


We Are Like Butterflies

by CommanderBayban



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio), SKAM (France)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Rewrite, Coming of Age, Crossover, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28185168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderBayban/pseuds/CommanderBayban
Summary: Peri has just moved to a new school and, although she quickly obtained a boyfriend, none of it really matters when he doesn't pay her any attention. This encourages her to embark on her own journey of becoming one of the 'cool kids', but once she meets the Doctor and his friends she begins to wonder...is being 'cool' truly worth it?A remake of season one of SKAM.
Relationships: Melanie Bush & Sixth Doctor, Peri Brown & Sixth Doctor, Peri Brown/George Stewart (Doctor Who), Sixth Doctor & Philippa "Flip" Jackson
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

###  **Monday — afternoon**

“ _No_ , George, red and blue pigments are the most effective in photosynthesis because they contain just the right amount of energy to excite the chlorophyll electrons.”

“Ohhh, really? See, I was thinking green would be, since, y’know, plants are green.”

“They’re green because they _don’t_ absorb that colour. It’s reflected back into the atmosphere for us to see.”

“Geez,” George said, scratching his head, “You’re really good at this stuff.”

Peri shook her head in exasperation, “Did you even bother to study, George? This is, like, kindergarten.”

“Weeell…”

Peri looked up at him askance with her lips pursed sardonically.

“Well, in my defense, in kindergarten I was eating bugs not scrutinising the sexual organs of flowers like you apparently were.”

Peri rolled her eyes and smirked, “Yeah, I can tell. Y’know, I don’t know why I even bother to call you Curious George.”

“Because you find it cute. Like me,” He pecked her on the lips before planting a sloppy one with tongues awagging. While that answer seemed to suit him just fine, in reality the reasoning was more related to him having the same gregarious and impetuous sensibilities as a wild monkey. But while Curious George's curiosity made him the talk of the town (much to the chagrin of the Man in the Yellow Hat), George Stewart was the complete opposite—the only topics that ever piqued his interest were those related to sports, women, and video games. This was a trend with every fellow Peri came to know over the years. Any time she brought a male friend over to visit or to simply introduce to her mother in passing, the night would inevitably end with teenage defiance and a slammed door. “Peri, I know you’re in high school and experimenting with dating like the rest of them, but why can’t you find yourself a decent man?” Janine would always lament, “Someone who’s a bit more academic and has a sturdy head on their shoulders?”

“I’ll be friends with whoever I want!” Peri would yell in return, “You can’t stop me!”

And Janine knew she couldn’t. Perpugilliam was a very cordial and open-minded child...to a fault (she preferred to use the word _‘naive’,_ but those five letters alone were enough to cause a row in the Brown household). Just last summer on an archeology trip to Lanzarote, her daughter insisted on travelling over four-hundred miles away to Morocco with a group of men twice her age for no reason other than, “they were cool”, “this place is boring”, and “one of them was cute”. All logical reasons for a high schooler to abscond from parental supervision. But no matter how many times you spoke to Peri, no matter how much objective reasoning you would funnel into her ears, your efforts would only drain out the other side. The result? Leaving you to abash yourself by explaining to your coworkers why your child was acting particularly bratty today. Thankfully, it was met with jest.

But deep down, Peri understood what her mother meant. Her friends weren’t exactly the bastion of chivalry or good influences. It’s not that they were the types to plunder and pillage (although she did have to convince an old pal that they _could_ , in fact, do without the extra can of energy drink), but they were simply the kind of people who considered passing with ‘C’s to be a cause for celebration. A far cry from her dream of being a doctor of botany one day.

And now, since moving to Baltimore, all of those old friends were now distant memories. She was an island in the middle of the city. An island that many stopped to gawk at, but never truly appreciated.

As much as she hated to remind herself, the only reason she bothered to call George her boyfriend was because he was the first guy to flatter her for something other than her natural endowments. And, as cliche as it sounds, he made her laugh. But after how many months of being together, his propensity for producing humorous content didn’t matter anymore. In fact, it was creating the opposite result as she had intended. George’s friendly attitude made him gifted at pushing himself into groups and chatting with strangers as though they were life-long buddies. But Peri, in all of her amicable splendour, was an island. To her, everyone in this school was a stranger and George wasn’t the best anchor to throw off onto the mainland. Sometimes she wondered if he still noticed her standing out there in the elements.

“Yo! Guess who got a hot fourteen on the biology test!?”

George’s attempts at romance were interrupted by the giddy voice of George’s friend (and by proxy, hers as well) Nathaniel Chambers, who was triumphantly waving his paper above his head. As he approached the two lovebirds standing by a scrawny oak tree in the common area, George scoffed and flounced his hand.

“What’s wrong with him?” Nate said, scrunching his brow.

Peri crossed her arms and kicked her foot up against the tree’s trunk, causing it to lean back an inch, “He got an eight.”

“An eight out of twenty?! Holy crap, did you study, dude? Or were you too busy playing _Halo_?”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s still the middle of the semester.”

“Yeah but that test counted for a huge chunk of…”

Peri’s attention shifted towards a group of girls walking past. Although their names were an enigma to her, the presence and weight they carried in the social hierarchy was all too clear. She watched as they flipped their hair, pursed their lips, and strutted through the concrete courtyard like they were being paid to do so.

Oh, to be one of the ‘cool kids’ again. To be a part of a clique that made other students want to break their necks to be a part of. Yeah, maybe it was shallow, but it was better than being alone, left to the mercy of one’s own thoughts.

The tallest girl of the bunch laughed a pitchy laugh and the others soon followed. Peri wondered what amused them. Thinking back to her old stomping ground, her group could chortle about anything and everything from weird commercials on television to someone’s ‘unfortunate’ surname emblazoned on a book's spine. No, there was no way she was going to be a nobody for the rest of her high school career. There was no way she was going to remain in George’s shadow.

“Right, Peri?”

“Huh?”

Nate tilted his head, “I said I bet you aced that test, didn’t you?”

Peri blinked herself back into focus, “Oh, yeah, obviously. I kinda have to.”

“Why? Oh wait, that’s right—university and all. It’s just like I told you, George. A free tutor right there in your own bedroom.”

“Shut up, Nate,” she muttered.

“Nah, he’s right though!” George said, punching his friend playfully on the arm, “I better take advantage!”

Peri rolled her eyes and expelled a small sigh. It was always the same.

Nate adjusted the strap on his bookbag with a heavy hoist, “Anyway, we better get going.”

“To where?”

“Dave’s place. Is that alright?” George stuffed his test paper into the open side compartment of his pack.

“Yeah, I’m not your mom…”

“Right, cool. See you then.”

“See you.”

After another sloppy kiss, the boys went off on their own with pep in their steps. Peri, running her index finger over her smooth thumbnail, directed her gaze towards the cracked, gum-ridden pavement. “ _What does it mean if one relates more to chunks of cement than a living, breathing person?”_ she thought.

Yes, it was always the same.

###  **Monday — night**

Peri sat in the middle of her bed surrounded by one-eyed and bushy-tailed stuffed animals and throw pillows of every colour imaginable. Her eyes glazed over the blinding light of her laptop screen where the cursor on a blank word document blinked rhythmically back at her.

The subject matter— _Othello_.

The interest level—zero.

It was nothing against Willy or the moorish general, but the budding botanist's mind was anywhere else but Venice. After being left to her own ruminations, there was no possible way she was going to finish this assignment tonight.

“A” she typed before backspacing not even a moment later.

“He”...backspace again.

Peri sighed and reached for her phone. Contrary to popular belief, many people _don’t_ reach for their mobile devices because they find that it’s infinitely more interesting than the world around them. Sometimes, it’s because the world around them is simply too chaotic; scrolling mindlessly through apps is the new-age alternative to stuffing one’s head into a newspaper or going out on the porch for a smoke. And one thing Peri swore to never do was turn into a walking chimneystack.

She opened up the popular social media app of the day and swiped her finger down, down, with the same glazed expression from before. There were only so many times one could view the same memes and pictures of drivel before it felt like internet groundhog day. But nevertheless, she persevered until she came across a face she thought she recognised. Her finger rewinded the tape and her eyes zoomed in. Yes, it was the tall, slender girl from earlier that day posing with those who were presumably the other ladies she was surrounded by. The dark ombre tresses flowing down her shoulders were unmistakable.

‘Ingrid Spielman’ it said above the photo. But how odd for one of her posts to appear on Peri’s feed. Kismet, perhaps? She scrutinised the post as though an archeologist attempting to uncover a hidden secret. There was nothing of particular interest, but Ingrid certainly had a way of applying makeup that made Peri’s brows jump. And...what was that?

The name ‘George Stewart’ popped out at her from the comment section. No, Peri wasn’t the type to get jealous over ‘her man’ complementing or even talking to other women. It was the sheer fact that _he_ was friends with her (she noticed that her non-friend status made her unable to reply) and _she_ wasn’t that made her shoulders drop. Was everyone in the know except for her? She exited the app and pressed her boyfriend’s phone number.

“Hey, it’s George. Leave a voicemail and I might call back,” it said without a second delay.

Peri clicked her teeth. “ _Might_ call back,” she repeated to herself. “Not exactly the best way to make an impression, George”. Still, it was better than his previous voicemail that wasn’t anything like a traditional voicemail at all. There was nothing like calling your boyfriend only to be blasted in the ears with some random hip-hop hit from five years ago.

A moment later her computer chimed with a jaunty tune as the face of Nathaniel spread across her screen.

“Hey, what’s up?” he said through the wavering pixels.

“Hey.”

“I’m working on the English homework but none of this makes any sense. Shakespeare’s not really my thing.”

Peri averted her eyes towards an uneven texture on one of her nails, “Is George with you?”

“George?” Nate scrunched his face, “Uh, why do you ask?”

“Didn’t you go to David’s earlier?”

“Yeah, but I left early to work on this assignment.”

“Oh, okay.” There was a silence that felt like eternity between them, “Did you see that that girl from algebra was wearing fake eyelashes?”

“Let me guess...Ingrid?”

Peri’s face dropped, “...Yeah.”

“I’m not surprised!” he sputtered, “She always dresses like some kind of...I don’t even know.”

“Yeah? I just saw her latest picture on my feed. She looks like a bad Audrey Hepburn impersonator!”

Nate took a glance down at his phone and shook his head, “Woah, it doesn’t suit her at all. Oh, I got it! A blow-up doll!”

“Pssh, I know right? You wouldn’t catch me wearing all that.”

Nate cleared his throat.

“What?”

“You’re not gonna spend all day stalking Ingrid and the other Pepsi Max’s profiles now, right? I know you’ve probably read Shakespeare a million times before but…”

Peri glowered up at the ceiling with the same defiance her mother was oh-so used to.

“...They don’t mean anything, you know,” he continued solemnly.

 _“What would he know?”_ she said to herself. But luckily, Nate was spared from any diatribes by a series of dull bangings on her window.

“Gotta go, George’s here,” Peri blurted, slamming down her laptop cover. She jumped off her bed and unlatched the sliding glass door, opening it just enough for her boyfriend to glide through. When he did, he threw his bag onto her rose-patterned rug and leaped onto her bed with all the grace of a wannabe pole vaulter, “You know my mom’s not here, right? You could’ve gone through the front door.”

“Yeah, but sneaking in makes it more fun,” he said, propping his head up on his hand.

Peri crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg, “I called you and your phone went straight to voicemail.”

“Battery died.”

“Again? They sell portable phone chargers, George.”

“I know, you told me last time.”

“And David couldn’t lend you his own?”

“How could he? I was probably on the way here when you called...Geez, what’s with all the interrogation Inspector Brown?”

“At least Nate had the decency to contact me,” she muttered, still standing by the door like a peevish parent.

“Mmhm, strict teacher you are,” George smirked as he sat himself erect, “Just walked into class and I’m already being given detention.”

Peri rolled her eyes. Obviously teenagers were hormonal oil wells ready to explode at any given moment, but George was always on the brink of a blowout, “Like you really came here for tutoring.”

“I did!” he exclaimed, “Tell me more about this, uh...what’s it called—perenth.”

“It’s _called_ a _perianth_. Geez, out of all the terms you could’ve at least remembered that one.”

George licked his lips like a ravenous feline of the savannah, but Peri made herself pay him no mind, “Well?” she added.

“Just a slip,” he bounded to his feet and wrapped his arms around her waist before she had a chance to process his movements, “Of the tongue.”

Peri forced her head away and blew him a raspberry, “Ew! You’re always so broody!”

“What’s wrong with that?”

She shoved past George and returned to her original spot on the bed, “Everything. Anyway, I have work to do, unlike some people I know.”

“Oh crap, that English assignment. Send me the deets and I’ll change some of the wording so it's not too obvious.” If Janine knew about George right now she’d shake her head. But Peri couldn’t help but follow in her mother’s footsteps; cheating on relatively easy homeworks was definitely the antithesis of sexy. But then again, everything George stood for was the antithesis of her own ingrained morals. “Pleeaaaseee?” He donned a perfect imitation of a puppy dog face.

“Fine.”

With a finger snap and a wink, George shuffled himself out of her room in the same way he had entered it, “You’re the best, Pears.”

“Bold words considering you barely know me…”

###  **Tuesday — afternoon**

Peri hunched herself over various papers, writing utensils, and highlighters that were strewn along her portion of the table. When one test ends, another is soon to begin, and she was taking the necessary steps to ensure that, once again, she brought home an enviable biology grade. While flipping through the textbook to reach the appropriate page, her ears perked up from the unavoidable chittering of feminine voices cutting through the sterile silence of the computer lab.

“Did you get Adrien’s invite?”

“Duh! Oh my gosh, we totally have to colour coordinate.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little too...weird family at Disney-ish?”

“No...I thought it would be fun. We _are_ Pepsi Max, after all.”

Pepsi Max? Peri's eyes jumped from the page. Sure enough, Ingrid and company were right smack in front of her, boasting about their apparent winnings. But if they were invited, at least she wasn’t alone in not having her name listed in the royal rolodex.

“Hi!” a girl about Peri’s height sporting thick, curly red hair leaped into view, “I’m Mel! And this is my friend Flip.”

“Short for Philippa,” the other added with a beaming grin, “And Mel’s short for Melanie!”

Peri glared upon them both with a disturbed grimace. From their peppy attitudes and Mel’s wardrobe that looked like she raided her mom’s eighties attire, they definitely were _not_ from The Clique. Interestingly, Flip’s voice wasn’t anything similar to the style she was used to. She spoke with a strong, valley girl inflection that gave her away as a non-native of Charm City.

“We’re from the theatre club here on campus and we’re recruiting for new members. We’d love for you to join us!” Mel dramatically pointed an Uncle Sam-like finger at the confused student before placing her hands back on her waist. There was no way this Mel person wasn’t a cheerleader either in school or in spirit; she looked to be about five counts away from breaking into a “Ready? OK!”

Peri rubbed the back of her neck, “Uhh, I’m not much of a thespian…”

“Well you totally don’t need any experience. I just jumped in and now I’m having the time of my life!” Flip interjected.

“‘All the world’s a stage and we are merely players,’” Mel responded with a deep, affected accent and with her hands firmly grasping her invisible lapels.

Flip gasped, “You sounded like the Doctor just then!”

“No, if the Doctor was here he’d be belting out ‘Nessun Dorma’ at the top of his lungs.”

“‘Nessun Dorma?’” Peri asked.

“If you don’t know, don’t ask. He really thinks going around deafening people is gonna convince them to join us.”

“Yeah,” Flip chuckled, “I’ll stick to _Legally Blonde_ , thank you. Ahem—’Whoever said orange is the new pink was seriously disturbed!’...”

The three girls looked down at Peri’s tangerine-coloured blazer.

“Oh, uh, but it looks great on you!” Flip sputtered.

“Thanks…”

“Nice one, Philippa,” Mel said through a facepalm, “Anyway, you don’t have to answer right away, but the sooner the better.”

“Hey, wait, are you going to the party on Friday?”

Peri shook her head to play ignorant, “Party?”

“Adrien’s birthday,” Mel informed, “Of course she is; everyone is.”

“I dunno,” Peri mumbled, directing her attention somewhere far away, “I kinda have a lot of homework to do.”

Flip gagged, “Oh come on, that's not an excuse! Even my friend Connie agreed to go, and she _hates_ these kinds of parties. Get this, Adrien’s parents rented an _entire_ club! Isn’t that brill? I couldn't believe it when Mel told me.”

“Oh...," That did sound pretty cool, "I—I, uh, deleted the invite. By mistake.”

“That’s alright, I’ll send it to you again! What’s your name?”

“Peri Brown,” she declared without hesitation.

Mel raised her brow, “You’re an eager one!”

“There you are. And...sent!”

Peri’s phone chimed and she flipped it over to check the notification, “Wow, thanks!”

“No problem!” the other two answered in unison.

“We’ll see you there?” Mel chirped.

“Yep! I mean...if I can get all my work done in time.”

Mel and Flip gave verbal expressions of approval before saying their farewells. When they were fully out of sight, Peri picked up her phone and quickly read through the invitation. With her heart aflutter, a small smile unconsciously spread across her face. This was it. This was her ticket to the big leagues.

###  **Thursday — afternoon**

“Do you wanna go to Adrien’s party tomorrow?” Peri asked George, who was swinging her hand with childlike whimsy in the outside hallway. Between classes, everyone was outside trying to catch up with friends to get their five minutes of conversation in before the bell rang. Peri and George were no exception.

“Adrien? Why?”

“I heard his parents rented out this huge club with DJs!”

George stuck out his neck like an ostrich, “Aaand? You don’t even know him.”

“And you do?”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t consider him a friend.”

Peri squeezed her boyfriend’s hand, “Everyone’s going, George. It’s practically a requirement.”

They stopped and stood before one another. George gazed down into his girlfriend’s deep, brown eyes and sighed, “Fine. But! You have to let Nate come with us over the weekend.”

Peri squinted and set her lips into a hard line, “What?”

“Come on, he has no plans. You don’t want him sitting around lonely, do you?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding.”

“Peri’s, he’s basically my best friend...After you, of course.”

Peri’s heart panged with anger. Oh, how she wanted to tell him off...Bringing Nate over for what was supposed to be a cozy couple’s trip? The audacity of the man! What, was she too girly? Too boring? Too...imperfect for him? Every time she scheduled a date just for them, George insisted on bringing one of his assortment of friends over. Heck, sometimes they just showed up without any prior notice!

But this party meant a lot to her. If she didn’t go, she’d never forgive herself. Who knows if an opportunity like this would arise later on in the year? They definitely wouldn’t once she became a senior. No, if she didn’t get herself a proper group of friends now then there was no turning back. She would forever be billed as ‘Most likely to be a loser’ in the school yearbook for generations upon generations to mock and feel pity for.

“Fine,” she capitulated, “Nate can come.”

“I can come?” Nathaniel interjected, stepping out from behind a thick, concrete pillar, “Where?”

“My aunt’s place. She won’t be there the whole weekend.”

“Seriously, dude?”

“Yeah!”

The two bros slapped hands and patted each other’s backs in a sideways hug, “Thanks man!”

Peri cleared her throat, “But you have to go to Adrien’s birthday party tomorrow.”

Nate bared his teeth and tugged on his shirt collar, “Tomorrow?” he faltered, “We can’t...Peri…” He looked up at George who furrowed his brow in confusion.

“What’s up?”

“The Shenaniganz concert, remember?”

George slapped his head, “Fuck! How could I forget!” He wrapped an arm around Peri, bringing her in close to him, but she remained steady, “I’m sorry, babe, it’s just, we already had the tickets and—”

“Forget it, George. It doesn’t matter anyway, just like you said.”

“I didn’t say—”

“But you meant it.”

###  **Friday — evening**

Janine Brown was still away on another archeology expedition, knee deep in sand and her lifelong passions. Nate and George were en route to see their favourite rapper perform downtown. And Peri was laying in bed rewatching a Myrna Kendal flick from back when colour television was only a pipe dream. She flopped onto her back and stared up at the white speckled ceiling. _“I wish I could skip high school and get straight to the good stuff,”_ she thought. Like every student, she didn’t see the point in wasting her time learning about subjects that she either didn’t care for or could’ve taught herself at ten times the speed. As far as she was concerned, grade school was ‘pre-life’. The preliminary ‘free trial’ before all the fun began. Once she could officially brand herself as an undergrad and study the mysteries of vegetation was when life really began. Not mulling over a random assortment of books and beating her head to understand thermodynamics.

With her head propped against her makeshift arm pillow, Peri looked up at the collage of photographs adorning her walls. A proper count was never taken, but she figured at least a hundred pictures were arranged and strung about the room. All were taken back with her old friends or with her mother...back when times were simpler. Whatever that meant. No, no matter how much she wanted to be philosophical about the topic, she had no idea what life was or what it shall be. Was life messing about with boyfriends who didn’t care an inch about her? Was life reminiscing about old friends; wondering what they were doing at this moment and secretly hoping they still thought of her?

She reached for her phone and searched for the invitation Philippa had sent. Gosh, it all felt so sad. Perpugilliam Brown wasting away in her own room because she didn’t have the ‘necessary’ friends to enjoy herself with. But at the same time, one couldn’t obtain friends just lying about on their laurels...

The bold trans-Atlantic accent of Kendal spelling out her rights echoed throughout the room. Now there was an independent, capable woman! Peri had gorged herself on every film, documentary, and interview she could possibly find about the Hollywood actress to the point where she was practically a walking biographer. The boisterous, no-nonsense personalities of Kendal's characters was a direct reflection of the actress' true self. She never missed an opportunity to snap her fingers and tell it like it is. Would Myrna be lazing about in her own self pity? Absolutely not! She’d stand up, put on her best clothes, and strut right on over to Adrien’s party without the slightest bit of shame!

And that’s exactly what Peri did.

~~~~

Heavy hip-hop beats pounded through her head from a mile away from the venue. Once inside, her veins coursed with the electric energy radiating through her fellow enthused teenagers. Who needs drugs when it was this easy to gain a natural high? Similar to her numerous encounters of being front and centre at a mosh pit, any thoughts that troubled her were pounded out by the bass and shoved out by the gyrating hips and flailing limbs of her schoolmates. The pungent aroma of alcohol stung her nose while also whetting her tastebuds. A drink sounded delightful right about now, but the last thing she wanted was to slur her words while trying to introduce herself to the Pepsi Maxxers. Peri scooted her way deep into the inner throngs of the crowd, avoiding those who seemed a bit too keen to dance with open cups and those whose eyes wandered more than they should.

As she approached the most congested part of the room, she noticed the peak of ombre-shaded hair poking out from somewhere near the bar. Bingo! If she could make her way over to Ingrid, she was home free.

“Peri!” a familiar voice called, “You’re here! Finished the homework then?”

Peri whipped her head around until she saw the bright red hair of Mel and the Californian tan of Flip grooving over to meet her, “What?!”

“I said you finished the homework!?”

Peri looked at them sideways. And then she remembered. But she was taken aback that Mel had recalled her statement without any delay.

“Memory like an elephant!” Flip laughed.

“Coming to dance with us?”

“Uhh…” Peri craned her neck over towards the bar where Ingrid was busy speaking to another girl, “Yeah. Just gimme a sec.”

Once Peri skipped into the frame, the other girl scurried away with her face deep into her hands. She couldn’t make out what had happened, but Ingrid’s face was stoic and unmoved by it all.

“Hi! I’m Perpugilliam, but my friends call me Peri!” she said without hesitation.

Ingrid set down her cup of fizzy drink and gave an apathetic shrug, “Perpug…? What kind of name is that?”

“...Mine?”

Ingrid scoffed and looked down at Peri with all of the derision of a dictator spewing vitriol at their subordinate, “That’s honestly one of the stupidest names I’ve ever heard.”

Peri made an effort to keep her jaw from hanging open, “Excuse me?”

“I said your name’s weird, twerp. Just like you.”

And with an exaggerated whip of her hair Ingrid made a sweeping exit back into the crowd. Peri stood motionless staring at the spot the head Pepsi Maxxer had once occupied. That was all a dream, right? Why, Peri had only introduced herself, what was with the egregious attitude out of nowhere?

With a sigh, she took a seat at the bar and buried her face in her hands. So much for bringing out her inner Myrna Kendal…

“Perpugilliam _is_ a rather ‘weird’ name in the conventional sense, I agree,” a smooth voice said from beside her, “Were your parents fans of Persian mythology, by chance? Or perhaps followers of Copernicus?”

Peri looked askance at the man standing beside her. He couldn’t be serious? Still, at least he was getting her mind off of that embarrassing situation, “I don’t really know, to be honest.”

“Oh, that’s alright! My name won’t be breaking records any time soon, either...Although, I do have the apparent luxury of knowing its etymology.”

Peri sucked her lips into an uninterested—yet courteous—smile and traced the swirls of wood grain on the bar counter with her fingernail, “Mmkay.”

“You do remember me from English, don’t you?” he said, taking a seat beside her, “As you always sit in the rear of the classroom, you should be well acquainted with the follicle structure of every one of us,” He fluffed his curly blond hair with a self-satisfied grin. “What do you think about mine, eh?”

Okay, he was definitely serious. Peri stole a glance up at him before returning her eyes back to the wood patterning, “It’s uh...nice. Curly. Blond.”

The odd fellow scoffed, “What a scintillating review, _Perpugilliam_.”

She remained unfazed, though the corners of her lips downturned ever so slightly. Whatever natural high she obtained when she walked in was officially depleted. Lying face down in a mound of pillows at home sounded a million times more enjoyable than being insulted by one person and confused by another. She couldn’t tell what her classmate was doing beside her, but from the corner of her vision, it appeared to be some kind of awkward fidgeting.

“...Well, since we’ve never been formally introduced, I’m the Doctor. Pleasure to meet you.”

Peri turned to him, “Doctor? I thought your name was Claudius?”

“Yes, you’re right. But as you refer to yourself by the diminutive _Peri,_ I have chosen the title of _the_ _Doctor.”_

“Ah.” He was just as weird face to face as he was from ten feet away in English class. She remembered the first time she set foot in the room. He was sitting front and centre with his hand raised and when he was called upon, his answer was akin to a dedication speech full of vivid word choices and dramatic inflections. Why, his response was so drawn out that her own grand entrance went unnoticed by even the teacher herself. And not to mention his uniform...which he wore...every. Single. Day.

At a time where every teenager is scrambling to make themselves look like a Charlotte Russe or _Sports Illustrated_ model clone, there he was looking like a cross between _GQ_ and Barnum and Bailey. The epitome of a total loser.

“Doctor!” Mel called from beyond.

“Is that my soul which calls upon my name?” he said, cuffing his ear.

“Doctor over here! Come dance!”

He swivelled around in his seat, “Indeed it is! I must be off then. But before I do, I’ll let you in on a little known fact about myself," He leaned in to Peri and held up a furtive hand between them, "I am an _excellent_ ‘rug cutter’. Tarra!”

Peri rolled her eyes, “Bye...Thank goodness.”

Peri hopped off her barstool and shuffled her way back through the crowd and outside where there was an array of round umbrella-covered tables illuminated by dim, warm lighting. The music was still pounding through the club walls, but now there was the added effect of cigarette and marijuana smoke wafting through the air.

A lone girl, who appeared to be the same one who ran off from Ingrid earlier, was hunched over one of the tables. Her shoulders rose and fell like staccato notes and, if she listened closely, she could just make out the faint sound of sniffling.

“Are you okay?” Peri asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she sniffed.

“Are you sure? Do you need me to get someone for you? One of your friends?”

The girl lifted her head and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, “Alex?”

“Alex? Okay, don’t move.”

With a deep breath, Peri rushed back into the club and pushed past the hordes of dancers to find someone she recognised. Thankfully it wasn’t the Doctor.

“Flip! Hi!”

“Peri, what’s up!”

“Do you know where Alex is?”

“Alex?” All the while, Flip was shaking what her mother gave her, “Yeah, he’s up front dancing! The cute one in the football jersey!” Peri turned herself to leave but Flip grabbed her by the arm, “Hey, are you leaving? I’m hosting an afterparty at my place; wanna come?”

“Sure!” she blurted without giving the question a second thought.

“I’ll text you the address!”

“I...just have to do something first.”

Peri made her way up to the front, near the raised platform. She thanked her stars that only one of the guys up there was wearing a jersey because none of them looked intriguing in the slightest. Alex felt otherwise, and was more than eager to follow her outside where he was apparently expected by another female of the species.

“Here he is!” Peri chirped once she made her way back to the crying girl who was no longer wallowing in her own tears, but now gesticulating and asserting her opinions on another girl who was returning the enthusiasm.

The two turned towards Peri and Alex with awkward disquietude. Both parties exchanged darting glances, bit lips, and rubbed necks, but especially Peri, who had a sneaking suspicion that she had done something wrong without her knowing.

“Uh...who is this?” the crying girl asked.

“Alex. I got him like you said.”

“No... _this_ ,” she pointed at her friend, “Is Alex.”

The female variation's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, "Your name is Alex, too?!"

"Yeah! I'm Alexander!"

The two Alex's slapped hands, “Yo! I'm Alexia! So cool!”

The crying girl cleared her throat, “Yeah, we were kinda in the middle of something.”

“Oh. Sorry," Peri frowned, "I’ll just...go.”

“Do that.”

Peri, kicking herself internally, strided past Alexander (ignoring his lewd comment towards her appearance) and around to the front entrance of the club, where she rambled on through the street back in the direction from whence she came.

A waste. A total, utter, complete waste of time that entire event was! Not only was she embarrassed once, but _three_ separate times. If she wasn’t in some semblance of the public eye, she would have given herself a good thrashing in the form of an impassioned, maddening soliloquy.

Her phone buzzed. A notification that George had posted on social media lit up the screen and she pressed it without a thought. It was a short, repeating video of him and Nate holding up their VIP backstage passes and shouting about how they were 'so close' to meeting Shenaniganz in person. _“Must be nice,”_ Peri thought as she swiped away and opened up the text from Flip, _“But at least it’s good to know that I’m not completely alone in this world tonight.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello ^_^. In case anyone is curious as to why I chose the name 'Claudius Dark', it's actually the name the Doctor adopts in the _Jago and Litefoot Series 4_ audios. I prefer this moniker to the standard 'John Smith' because, seriously, does Six (or Colin for that matter) look like a 'John Smith' to anyone? x3


	2. Chapter 2

###  **Saturday — afternoon**

It had been a few hours since Peri had made herself comfortable at Aunt Stewart’s waterfront home. It was a quaint place with white-washed siding and light-blue shingles that also adorned the windows. An array of flowering bushes lined the driveway and the perimeter of the home, which gave George ample opportunity to quiz Peri on his relative’s choice in ornamentation. Inside, there wasn’t a shadow in sight. The large bay windows and sliding glass doors brought in enough sun that one could achieve a tan just by reclining on the niche for a decent amount of time.

The furniture was virtually pristine. Despite the home being owned for some years, there wasn't so much a scratch on any of the wood chairs or tables; and the pillows were fluffed and positioned with the accuracy of a professional decorator. With the typical beach theme of sandy white and baby blue prevalent everywhere from the cushions to the tchotchkes, the three visitors felt like they had stepped into a luxury vacation home as opposed to an aunt’s house.

After unpacking their belongings, the boys decided to take a quick stroll out to the calm, wavering water only a few feet away from the back entrance. But Peri, still making herself as organised as possible for the two-day excursion, remained inside. As she tucked away her last shirt into the dresser, she noticed a small ceramic figurine sitting on one of the corners: a white kitty sitting with its paw dangling in the air and a newspaper sailor’s hat perched on its head. The shoddy, lacquered paint job of the (presumably) antique sculpture made it look a rather ugly thing. And that expression? A far-cry from the adorable faces you'd see on any Japanese iconography. It was akin to the gauche hand-me-downs one would find shoved away in the back of a shelf in a thrift store but, at the same time, it had a certain charm that brought the bureau together.

“I bet the Doctor would love that,” Peri mumbled aloud.

Speaking of which...she pulled out her laptop from her knapsack and flopped onto the navy-blue comforter covered in tiny white anchors. It wouldn’t hurt just to take a peek at his social media profile, would it? After all, you couldn’t begrudge a girl for wanting to learn more about the peculiar fellow who struck up a conversation with her at the local club!

Peri searched up his name—Claudius Dark—and, to no one’s surprise, he was the only person who appeared in the results.

She gave a breathy laugh through her nose, “And I’m the one with the weird name. He sounds like a Marvel reject!”

After clicking onto his profile, she was met with a photo of him posing in a black robe with green trim and a gilded crown atop his head. His appearance was reminiscent of someone out of an old Disney film—a relative of Jafar or Maleficent. The only difference was there were two large mouse ears perched on opposite sides of his headdress and a bush of whiskers sprouting from his cheeks. Mickey Mouse's long lost goth cousin? Peri considered closing out the page right then and there (this man was only getting weirder by the minute) but a seed of curiosity had already begun to germinate within her.

Scrolling down, she read through his list of interests (various plays, authors, scientists, and other ‘scholarly’ subjects her mother would go giddy over), the photos he had made public (if there was one thing he had going for him, it was his modeling ability—Tyra would be proud), and the posts she had the ability to see (which all fell into two camps: dissecting his favourite literature or ranting about some petty injustice). Every post contained a caption chock full of high-scoring Scrabble words and with the tone of someone's father who's just discovered the wonders of the Interwebs. Peri couldn’t help but giggle. Here was a man who took himself way too seriously; he acted more like an old man than someone her age...but in a weird way it was still endearing. Everyone’s immature to some extent in high school, but at least some knew how to conduct themselves so their immaturity didn’t come across as a plague of sexual euphemisms and constant slacking off during class.

Peri sighed and tapped her lip with the crook of her finger. Maybe Claud— _the Doctor_ —wasn’t too terrible of a guy. She was just having a bad night that clouded her judgement, is all…

Her cursor hovered over the green ‘add friend?’ button. Yeah, yeah, she had met at least four different girls over the course of last week and here she was drooling over another dude’s profile. _And_ he was blond? Sorry, mom!

The button changed from a question to a bold statement: ‘request sent’. Peri felt the pent up air trapped within her lungs release from her parted lips. Well, that was done.

But before she could relish in her impetuousness or be hit with a strong enough wave of regret, George pushed down her computer screen and planted himself on top of her, covering her neck in a series of kisses. Peri's heart began to surge; the tiny hairs on her body began to prick upwards. She flipped onto her back and pushed George down onto the covers with one fell swoop. With her legs straddling him, she closed her eyes and slipped her tongue between his lips. George wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close with a small moan of delight.

Gosh, when was the last time they'd done that? Not only was it a challenge to manoeuvre around the supersonic ears of their parents (or George's younger sister!), Peri never seemed in the mood either. George's sloppy kisses would be met with pecks and, on any other day, Peri would've rolled off the bed and left the room. It wasn't always like this, however. In the initial stages of their relationship, romance flourished like an English garden in spring. Now, it just wasn't the same. But maybe patience really was a virtue!

“Oh fuck!” Nate exclaimed, covering his eyes as he walked in. Taking a glimpse backwards, Peri jumped off her boyfriend and curled up by the pillows, but by George’s lack of shirt it was obvious where the day was headed.

“Nate, you cockblock!” his friend yelled in return.

Nathaniel hurried to shut the door back in front of him, “Sorry, sorry!”

Peri rolled her eyes, “Is he for real? This is your fault you know.”

“We could kick him out. Put him on the next bus to Cairo,” George responded, looking up at her.

“Then do it.”

“Me? Why can’t you?”

“Because he’s _your_ friend.”

“But it’s _you_ who truly wants him to leave.” George saw that a series of wrinkles were ruining her gentle countenance. He reached up to peck her on the cheek. “Fine, let's forget it,” he said, pulling himself off the bed and reaching for his shirt, “What time is it?”

Peri leaned over to press the home button on his phone. Underneath the time and date was a notification. Multiple notifications. From a group chat with ten other people...including Ingrid.

“Well?” he urged.

“2:10.”

“2:10? Mmk,” George showered her in another series of kisses and traipsed out the room, shutting the door behind him. Peri stared off into the distance and, with a sigh, her shoulders fell.

###  **Saturday — afternoon**

To be cooped up indoors when the sun was shining at the perfect height overhead and when the water was only a stone’s throw away from home was a crime. The three guests all decided that they should take full advantage of nature and sit lakeside with tunes courtesy of DJ Stewie.

As much as George liked to pretend he was an expert musician, his talents thus far only consisted of a few generic cover songs of rock and pop hits from the 21st century (with a stray Nirvana track thrown in for good measure). Nevertheless, he whipped out his battered acoustic and strummed a few chords and plucked a few notes like he was the grunge version of Art Garfunkel.

“Dude, play ‘Lose Yourself,’” Nate said, taking a swig of his beer. Folk was the last genre he wanted to hear while being surrounded by friends. They were spending their weekend at a lakeside resort not hopping trains!

“Oh fuck yeah, that’s a good one.”

George adjusted his guitar strap and began strumming the beginning notes of the rap. Nathaniel brushed his leg underneath him and counted the beats by tapping his hand on his knee. When it was time for the vocals to start, he shut his eyes and started to spit rhymes. Not a single word was missed or tripped over throughout the rap and George cheered him on with blunt grunts and repeated ‘yeah, yeah’s.

In the bars leading up to the chorus, Peri bobbed her head. While she was famous for being a staunch metalhead, she never shied away from a non-thrasher track with a heavy beat and vocals that stung like acid. Heck, she used to flaunt the fact that she was a fan of Shenaniganz before he won a Grammy.

“You better lose yourself in—!”

The music stopped.

Peri pouted, “Hey!”

“Yeah, why’d you stop?”

There was the dull sound of vibration coming from the musician's clothes. “Hold on,” George said. He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and tapped his thumbs against the screen with a fury. The corners of his lips upturned into a slick smile, leaving Peri and Nate to sit back in silent curiosity.

“Who is it?” Peri goaded, “ _George_?”

“Huh?” he mumbled without lifting his eyes from the device.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Sil.”

“ _Sil?_ ”

“Davey, whatever. Wait, hold on,” George shoved the guitar into Nate’s lap and pressed his phone to his ear, “Yeah, it’s Stewie, yeah yeah. Wait, let me get to somewhere quieter.”

Once George was out of sight, Peri leaned over to Nate and asked what was going on between George and Ingrid. Nate plucked the guitar’s strings one by one but said nothing.

“Nate, what’s going on between them?!” she whispered louder.

“Why...should I know?” he gulped.

“I saw that she texted him earlier. _Them_. Are you a part of that group chat?”

“Group chat...the one with Davey? Yeah.”

“And, like, a hundred other people.”

Nate looked up at her wide, moistened eyes and shrugged. Anyone could see the passion behind her gaze but he just didn’t know what to say to reassure her. “Aren’t you in that group, too?”

Peri gave an exaggerated shake of her head that said 'Uh, _NO!'_.

Nathaniel twisted his mouth into a grimace, “Oh. I...dunno.”

Kicking up a ton of sand in the process, George jogged back down to meet his friends. The disquietude in the air was tangible, and immediately after affixing his guitar back around his chest he asked Peri if everything was alright.

“Mhm,” she muttered, curling up into herself like a perturbed turtle.

George lifted a brow like Mr Spock and turned towards Nate who responded with a casual shrug, “...Well, it doesn’t look like it.”

###  **Sunday — afternoon**

Back indoors, George and Nate were prattling on as they watched their favourite 80s classic: _Miami Vice_. It was a series Nate had seen at least a dozen times and yet it didn't interest Peri in the slightest. While she had no qualms against watching _James Bond_ any other programme about crime-fighters was like watching paint dry. Or should that be blood? As the boys gasped, oooed, and aaahed to themselves as a barrage of gunshots went off in the background, she was struggling to keep her head up.

On her phone, Peri opened her social media and typed in Claudius’ name to return to his profile. The little green button saying 'request sent' hadn’t changed from yesterday. She swiped up to refresh the page—still nothing.

Swirling her tongue around her teeth, she pressed on his profile image to bring it to full screen. That weird, rat-like costume he was wearing was growing on her. It was made even weirder considering she'd been frightened out her wits by the appearance of a dead rat carcass in her home two weeks ago. Maybe it was a sign from the King Rat himself! First they scurry into your home then they make conversation over drinks and never ask you to dance. Something like that. But whatever the motive was in the rodent kingdom, she’d take him over the incessant chittering from her boyfriend and company.

George looked askance at Peri, “You’re not paying any attention, are you?”

“I don’t even like this show, George," she responded without a glance in return.

“Ookay, but we do.”

She clicked off her display and slapped her phone onto her curled leg, “So? I don’t have to care about the same things you do.”

“Geez, Peri,” Nate frowned, “Sorry.” He pressed ‘pause’ on the remote, leading to a brilliant freeze frame of Crockett about to spit fire, “What do you want to do instead?”

“Watch _Wendy Williams_ ,” George deadpanned.

Peri hit him in the arm, “ _No_. _”_

“Animal Planet?”

“Shut up, George!” she said, punching him harder, “Truth or dare.”

The two boys exchanged expressions of piqued brows and George, rolling his lips in intrigue, conceded. He rubbed his hands together, “Ooo, okay, who’s first?”

“Me," Peri said.

“Alright, shoot.”

Peri sat herself straight and bore her eyes into George’s, “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“As if you’d choose ‘truth’,” she scoffed, “Read the last text you got.”

Nate knitted his brows, “You can’t choose anything funnier, Peri?”

“Seriously, babe," George agreed.

“It’s my turn and I can choose whatever dare I want,” she declared.

“I guess. Alright." George pulled out his phone and did as asked. Meanwhile Peri conspicuously craned her neck over to scrutinise the depths of his mobile. “‘Georgie, there are cookies in the kitchen. Take as many as you want.’ From my aunt.”

Peri fell back in her seat with a defeated pout. Of course his last text would be something so mundane! He probably texted his aunt beforehand just to spite her...but then that would give him too much credit.

“Hey, you chose it.”

A blunt banging on the front door jolted them all from their seats. They all averted their eyes towards the noise, but other than the swaying trees and a sedan rolling past, there seemed to be no one and nothing in sight. Nate and Peri began to slowly rise from their seats to make a dash for the back of the house if need be, but George minced over towards the entrance, peeking through the windows with the hairs on his neck standing on end.

He opened the door a tad and, with half of his body still inside, swivelled himself left and right. Still, there was no sign of the noise. Not even an mischievous little squirrel was seen scampering away from the scene.

“I don’t see—no way!” A teenager wearing a black beanie covering the top of his medium-length auburn hair leaped into the frame like Superman. George pushed open the door with his back and the two slapped each other’s hands in cordiality before making their way back inside. When they did, the student pounded Nate’s fist and gave a stilted wave to Peri before plopping himself beside her. She had no idea who this man was, but if George was anyone to be trusted, she could assume that this was the elusive David who was always heard but never seen.

But not only was it a disappointment to invite Nate for no reason at all, George had the nerve to invite David too! The trip was meant to be for just her and George—no one else! Peri's already long face dropped to the varnished wood floors. 

“He asked if he could come, Peri, I couldn’t say no!”

“Of course you couldn’t.”

“Yo, I didn’t mean to cause any issue…” David held up his hands.

“It’s fine,” Peri huffed.

“Good,” David grinned, “Then, let’s go out for a smoke then, shall we?” He presented a plastic bag full of greenish-brown material.

“But you don’t even smoke!” Peri exclaimed, staring into George’s soul. He didn’t bother to respond to her; he simply shrugged.

As they made their way out the door with Nate tagging behind, George mumbled to David, “I don’t know why she’s always so uptight nowadays.”

The statement was audible enough that everyone could hear, and Peri shrouded her face with her hands. But before Nate crossed through the threshold, he turned back around,

“Do you need any help to prepare lunch?” he said, softly.

“No,” she whimpered, her voice muffled by her palms, “You can go.”

~~~~

While Peri was preparing a spaghetti feast of fancy imported, organic noodles and sauce obviously bought from an overpriced health store, she was honed in to the three boys through the window. She could hear every word they uttered, and none of it was of any interest whatsoever. But she expected no more from George—his conversations were about as dry as three-month old bread. She had better luck getting a stimulating conversation out of a toddler. And why was he now a pothead? Peri was far from the type who would cast glares of contempt at those who dabbled in the green, leafy stuff, but she personally found nothing attractive about a man whose breath reeked of carcasses.

They arrived back into the house ten minutes behind schedule—but who was counting? Peri was slumped into a chaise with her hand underneath her chin as the others made no attempt to contain the sudden cacophony of noise they had dragged along with them. Without so much as a greeting, they flopped onto the couch and proffered their plates to her. Peri laughed dryly to herself as she gazed upon their beaming countenances. Why, they all looked like urchins ready to indulge in the first real meal of their lives.

“You really think I’m gonna serve you?” she sneered, “Like your mom?”

The smile slapped off George’s face, “Why are you still angry?”

Peri sat on the edge of her seat and leaned into him, “Because you act like a douche.”

“A douche?” he smirked, “What did I do?”

“Do you really want to talk about it in front of your friends?”

George shook his head and popped up a shoulder, “Sure. Why not?”

Peri crossed her legs and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. A part of her wanted to clear her throat and crack her knuckles too, but then it felt a bit too cliché. “First, we were supposed to be alone for the weekend, but instead you bring two of your friends. And then you want to show off and make yourself look cool by smoking weed even though you _know_ I don’t like it. Finally, you’re in a group chat with everyone in school except for me!”

George sputtered incredulously, “It’s not my fault you don’t have any friends, Peri!”

Nate and David covered their faces with their hands, but the rise and fall of the latter’s shoulders made the burden of embarrassment fall right back on Peri.

“You’re not even bothering to help! I just moved here; the least you can do is introduce me to someone. _Anyone!”_

“Seriously?” George ran a hand through his messy beach-blond hair and scoffed, “Do you want me to hold your hand when you cross the street too?”

“Uh, _yeah_ , you’re supposed to be my boyfriend!”

“If being lonely bothers you that much, why don’t you go out and talk to people instead of hanging around me all the time!?”

“So now you’re saying I’m clingy!”

He exhaled a small grunt as he fell back onto the cushions, “You said it, not me.”

Peri's fingers gripped around the plush, ivory armrest, “You’re horrible!”

“Mmkay, Peri.”

Her voice dropped to sotto, “Is...is that all you have to say?”

“...Yup.”

Peri’s face became covered in a mess of wrinkles. It wasn’t all _she_ had to say, but dash it. He knew what his faults and wrongdoings were; she shouldn’t have to spell it out! She took to her feet, “Fine!” and stormed off into the bedroom, giving the door a slam behind her. “DOUCHE!”

She fell onto the bed face-up, wiping any tears that had begun to flow down with the wide sleeve of her cardigan. Just as it usually was when tempers flared, her mind was spinning and her muscles were so tense that she felt the only way to calm herself was to punch something—anything. But it wasn’t her house, and the last thing she wanted to be branded as by a bunch of immature cretins was an ‘unstable bitch’.

So Peri curled up into a ball and clenched the comforter with her nails. Her thoughts flooded with a slew of memories of her mother urging her not to mess around with ‘guys like that’. Maybe she was the dumb one after all. She couldn't help but make the same mistake a million times; expecting the next boy to be different but knowing deep down that they never were.

The Doctor was different, though. Right? He knew who Copernicus was! That was more than George could ever hope to know! Heck, he'd think that she was bastardising the surname of that one famous NFL player...from that one team.

Peri muffled her sniffles and chuckles with her clothes. “Sorry, I only date guys who are friends with 15th century astronomers,” she joked to herself.

A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins as she remembered Claudius and his duality of chromaticism. Her hand took control of the reins, logging into her phone and swiping over to social media. To her surprise, the notification bell sported a red circle and, with a deep inhale and another jolt of dopamine to the heart, she poked it.

_“Claudius Dark (the Doctor) has approved your friend request.”_

Peri’s nerves went into overdrive. She tossed her phone back face-down onto the bed and bit her lip to keep herself from smiling all toothy and weird. Finally, someone who wasn’t like the rest! Someone who could show her the majestic flora of the Rat Kingdom instead of just the underside of their clothes!

###  **Monday — morning**

The group had arrived back in Baltimore the night before. George offered to have Peri stay over at his place to 'combat her jet lag', but she declined and went home. After their untimely argument, there was no way another night _alone_ wouldn't be drenched in awkwardness. On the way to school, Peri strolled along the sidewalk paying no mind to the rush of cars speeding past or the joggers eager to get their morning steps in. Everything was as swell as it could be...until George followed behind, his speed vacillating between wanting to run up to meet her and choosing to straggle behind.

“Peri!” he shouted. Thankfully, she stopped, “We’ll see each other later right?”

She stared at him with lifeless, glazed eyes.

“Come on, forgive me,” he said, pacing over to grab her gently by the arms, “If I knew this weekend meant so much to you I wouldn’t have invited them.”

“If I knew it didn’t mean anything to you I wouldn’t have come.”

“Pears, you know how important it is for me to spend time with my friends.”

Peri made an about-face but George stopped her before she could make any sudden movement, “You could've brought a friend, too!...I mean…”

“Don’t bother,” she grumbled.

“Peri, Peri…” George lifted up her chin with his index finger and caressed her rosy cheek with the crook of it. She glowered up at his deep, green eyes that were trying so hard to appear apologetic. She wouldn’t dare tell him that his sensuality was completely ineffectual now. The tingling sensation that used to run down her spine and the way her arms would be covered in goosebumps with just the slightest touch was now hidden in the recesses of her heart. “You’re the coolest girl I know. Other girls are annoying and vain, but you’re not. You’re smart, cute...funny. I love everything about you.”

"You've got to be kidding."

"No way! Seriously, any guy would be lucky to call you their girl....so...y'know," he shrugged innocently, "I'm glad you chose me."

Peri’s lips twitched into a small smile.

“Heeeey, I see that!” he laughed, “So I did okay?”

Peri rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Yeah, you did.” And, right there on the side of a busy street, they showered each other in a mess of kisses. Darn her teenage sensibilities!

###  **Monday — afternoon**

Another weekday, another round of the same onerous schedule. Peri navigated her way through the hordes of students who were stampeding in the opposite direction while also trying to skirt around those who insisted on standing idle in the middle of the walkway like a stone pillar. With her bookbag strap gripped between her fingers, she darted into her English class and fell into her trademark seat in the back centre part of the room.

Contrary to popular belief, those who sit in the back are not always those with low grade point averages and high counts of in-school suspension. Peri chose to sit in the back because she simply didn’t enjoy being the centre of attention like those who sat in the front. She had neither anything to prove nor did it feel particularly comfortable to have twenty other students staring down her back for an hour each day. Her teachers knew of her potential and never strayed from a moment to compliment her on an excellent assignment or test score.

Second to enter the class was the Doctor who, with a flounce of his coat, placed himself in the middle front seat that had a direct, unobscured view of the whiteboard. He then pulled out a small, dog-eared paperback from his coat pocket and placed it squarely in the middle of his desk.

“Good afternoon, Ms Mekonnen,” he chuffed.

She turned around from writing on the board and strung one of her waist-length locs behind her ear, “Afternoon, Claudius. How is the book coming along?”

“Very well. In fact, I’ve come to return it.”

“Already? I just gave it to you last Friday!”

“Indeed, and I’ve already finished it. A lovely tale it was about life on the high seas...it almost gave me a tinge of nostalgia.”

"You have experience in sailing?"

"Good heavens, no; I've yet to wade further than ten feet away from the shore! But gallivanting around the world in a ship crafted by my own two hands...Gazing upon the coruscated lights peppered across ancient beacons on Mallorca; hearing the unfettered songs of kingfishers from Tahiti's pristine wilderness..." The Doctor clenched his palms triumphantly in front of him, "There must be nothing as sweet."

Ms Mekonnen nodded wistfully, “Yes...well I’m glad you approved. I’ll see what else I can bring you." Her brown eyes twinkled through her thin spectacles, "But I must warn you, if you keep this up, I’ll run out of books!”

Another student sauntered in and fell into the seat beside him. She placed her black, faux-leather purse full of chips and cracks onto the table with a _thud_ and followed suit with her pristine bag of McDonalds. It was technically against school rules to leave the premises during lunch hour, but when it came to teens 'where there was a will, there was a way'. “Hey, Claude...” she purred, leaning over to rub elbows with him, “Do you have the homework from Friday…?”

The Doctor turned his head with the likeness of an old-fashioned robot—slow and stilted—as he glared at the mascara-laden student from the corner of his eye. The poignant aroma of greasy food and stale coffee from earlier that morning wafted through the air around them. He wriggled his nose in repugnance, “If your enquiry was proffered with the intention of engaging in deceitful conduct, I’m afraid I cannot help you.”

“Please, Claudius? I forgot…” she grabbed hold onto his arm and squeezed it ever so tightly.

With a strong, yet soft, expression spread across his visage, he shot daggers into her puppy-dog eyes, “Unhand me this instant.”

“This is the only time I’ll ask. I promise!”

“I believe you uttered this same statement to Grant last week, did you not? Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to say ‘ _no’_. There's a reason cities forbid the feeding of wild animals, and it's _not_ because they have a personal vendetta against pigeons and squirrels." With one smooth motion, he pushed back his seat with his legs and stood to attention, “Goodbye.”

“Wait!”

Grabbing his book and leather satchel, he swaggered to the back of the room where he stopped in front of Peri’s double-wide desk. “May I sit here?” he asked sweetly.

“Uh…” Peri gulped, “Sure.” She glanced down at the paperback novel he was carrying. It wasn’t anything she recognised and it certainly wasn’t anything on the schedule of books the class was intending to read over the course of the semester. She committed the title to memory anyway and removed her assignments and copy of _Othello_ from her bag.

“So, what’s your excuse?”

Peri placed the book on the corner of her desk, “What?”

“For not having any friends! Why, every time I see you in the hall you’re sulking to yourself.”

Peri scowled internally. First of all, she never...she _rarely_ sulked to herself in public. Second, if she did happen to be sulking, would it be too much to ask for him to console her for a change? A simple, ‘are you okay?’ went a long way around these parts!

“That’s offensive,” she mumbled, clicking her pen closed, “You don’t know the half of what I’m going through.”

The Doctor frowned, “Oh, I’m sorry, I—”

A crowd of students entered the room just as the bell rang. Ms Mekonnen placed her marker in the metal slot beneath the board and began her lesson without tarriance, “Good afternoon, class. Last week we left off in the third act of _Othello_. This should be easy for anyone who did the homework, so let’s separate the wheat from the chaff, shall we? Peri,”

“Yes?” Peri chirped.

“Why does Othello care about Desdemona’s handkerchief?”

“Um...it’s because it’s the first gift he ever gave her. And also because his mom used it as a symbol of love for his dad...so it’s a family heirloom. Othello is afraid that Desdemona gave the handkerchief to another guy because he only intended it to be for her.”

“Excellent answer,” the Doctor whispered.

“Good job, Peri,” Ms Mekonnen said with a clap of her hand, “The handkerchief was…”

“I’m not dumb just because I sit in the back, you know,” she replied with a smirk.

The Doctor returned the gesture, “I never assumed you were!”

###  **Tuesday — afternoon**

Everyone knows that eating in the lunchroom is reserved for those with social status in the high school hierarchy. And those who enjoy starting fights. But because Peri fit into none of those categories and George and Nate preferred to sit outside regardless, they always brought their food out to the shaded porch separating the lunchroom from the classrooms.

Peri munched on her ham and cheese panini as her two companions waffled on about football teams and their latest scores. Being with them after spending an hour with the Doctor felt like night and day. And she barely had an opportunity to have a true conversation with him during that time!

A girl with thin, black hair draped over her chest approached Peri with a tiny wave, “Hi...Can we talk?”

Peri looked askance at George then back at the stranger, “Me?”

The girl nodded, “Just the two of us.”

Peri placed her meal back in the paper container and set it on her bag before following the girl a few feet away, “What’s up?”

“I don’t know if you remember me, but we met at the party. I’m Daphne.”

“Peri.”

“Do you wanna be a part of our crew? Me and Alex booked a place.”

"Crew?" Peri ruffled her brow, “You mean to have a party?”

“Mhmm!” Daphne bubbled, “ _The_ coolest party of everyone’s high school career. With the best music, drinks flowing all night, and hot guys _EVERYWHERE._ While organising this party, we’ll become friends with the most popular people in school so when _we_ become seniors, everyone will know our names. If you want to join, I’m having a meeting to discuss it all.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! It’ll be on Friday, after school.”

Peri bounced on her heels. FINALLY, someone who understood her plight!

The Doctor strided into view, clutching the leather strap of his bag. Daphne sized him up from the tip of his green boots to the tallest peak of his fluffy hair. Her cheeks twitched as she tried to keep herself from gagging. “Hello again, Peri!” he beamed.

“Hey, Doctor,” Peri smiled.

Daphne curled a lock of hair between her fingers, “...Is Peri a friend of yours?”

“Oh, I would hope so! From the eight minutes of conversation we've shared, I reckon that she'd be a wonderful person to consider a friend!”

Daphne cleared her throat, “Right. And, Peri, for the meeting...we were supposed to do it at Alex’s but her parents are having guests over. And we can’t do it at mine because it’s my mom’s yoga night. She likes it to be one hundred percent zen, so the less people the better. Can we do it at your place?”

Peri shrugged with pep, “Sure! Can the Doctor come?

“Hold on," he lifted a firm finger, "What am I being invited to?”

“To our meeting. We’re organising a party to become super popular. We’ll have the best music, drinks flowing all night, and hot guys _EVERYWHERE._ While organising this party, we’ll become—”

“Yes, I see...well ‘hot guys _everywhere_ ’ as you put it is not exactly going to be a deciding factor as far as I’m concerned.”

“Sorry...but you can't blame me for assuming because…”

“ _Yes_?”

“Uh…”

Peri mouthed for her to not say anything.

“...Nevermind. I don't think any of the popular guys are into that sort of thing anyway.” Daphne gave a courteous smile like those sported by underpaid store greeters, “But are you in or not?”

“No.”

“And why not?”

“I have more important things to do than tarnish my self-identity to impress those who don’t know the difference between ‘less’ and ‘fewer’.”

The two girls blinked at one another. So much for that, then.

“Whazzup!” Alex shouted as she skipped into the group. Behind her was a girl an inch taller wearing a light pink hijab, “Can Imane join our crew?”

Daphne cocked her head, “How do you two know each other?”

“We go to the same mosque,” Imane monotoned.

There was a second of silence amongst the original three until Alex sputtered with laughter, “She’s kidding! We have German together.”

“Ah,” Daphne nodded, “So you’re interested in the party then? Cool, we need another person since _somebody_ ,” she shot the Doctor a dirty look, “Thinks we’re beneath them.”

The Doctor scrunched up his face and scoffed, “I never said that."

“You implied it.”

"But it's not too far removed from the truth now is it?"

“How can he think we’re beneath him while he’s dressed like that?” Imane laughed sharply through her nose, “You must be kidding.”

“That’s what I’m saying!" Daphne agreed.

Alex licked her lips, “Well I think he looks hot...”

The Doctor grimaced as he took a wide step back, “Right. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Peri.”

Peri held up her hand to wave, “Alright, Doctor!”

With him gone, Peri and Daphne were left to discuss the logistical matters to Imane and Alex. They all agreed that it would be best to have Peri host the meeting, because Imane couldn’t do it either for reasons unspecified.

“Alright, then it’s final,” Daphne clasped her hands, “Peri will text us her address and I’ll see you all there!”

They all broke into splinters going their own way. Peri went back to George and Nate on the bench and Alex, who noticed the two guys in her vicinity, puckered her lips and wagged her finger at them coquettishly. George snickered to himself, “Nate, you finally got yourself a girl, dude!”

###  **Friday — night**

“Thanks, Peri,” Daphne said as Peri set a tray of sparkling water onto the coffee table, “Now, the first item of business is the venue.”

“She booked a place but then she was ditched by the Pepsi Maxxers; now she can’t get the deposit back,” Alex added.

“Thank you, Alex. And here’s our budget…,” she began distributing printed copies to each of the girls who looked at it inquisitively.

“You’re joking! Fifteen dollars? Are you trying to steal their money?”

“Every little bit counts, you know that.”

Imane rolled her eyes and tossed the paper onto the end table beside her, “I think it’s a waste. A budget is useless if no one comes to our party.”

Daphne crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg, “And why would no one come?”

“Because we’re the biggest losers in school.”

Peri took a laboured swig of her drink as she tried to make the ice cubes stay as quiet as possible.

“We’re not the biggest losers in school. You saw that guy with the crazy outfit.”

Imane adjusted herself so her eyes were in the direct line of sight as Daphne’s, “Aren’t you the one who was ditched by her own friends?”

“That’s not...how it happened,” Daphne murmured.

Alex scooted to the front of her seat, “Yes it was.”

“Is there any point of being in denial?” Imane continued, “You’re obviously making this a big deal for a reason. Listen,” she positioned herself erect, “We’re going to _make_ the cool kids come to our party.”

“And... _how_ are we going to do that?” enquired Daphne, leaning herself against the wall.

Imane smiled, “Who has a boyfriend?” Her eyes shot towards the direction of one girl in particular.

Peri blinked and slowly raised her hand.

“Dump him. Oh and...dump that clown friend of yours too.”

A record scratch went off in Peri’s head.

_“Excuse me!?”_


	3. Chapter 3

###  **Monday — morning**

Imane’s words ruminated in Peri's mind for the entire weekend. Dump both her boyfriend _and_ the Doctor? For someone she only known for five seconds, this girl had a load of nerve. At least it was a slightly comforting thought that it wasn't just her mother who felt the need to control every aspect of her life. Now when Janine asked who 'everyone' was when Peri would yell, "Everyone acts like they know more than me!" she could rattle off more than two names. But while Peri would do anything necessary to become a name synonymous with Pepsi Max, throwing away her only friends was something unthinkable. No one else was being commanded to start their lives over from scratch!

The following Monday, Peri stomped her way over to Daphne’s locker. As expected, the three other members of the crew were crowded around it, mumbling and laughing intermittently amongst themselves. Peri, with all the energy of Superman, strided into view and laid down the law.

Daphne removed a large textbook with a bright yellow sunflower emblazoned on the front before pressing her locker closed, “I agree, Peri shouldn’t have to break up with George."

Imane stuck her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie, “We have to use whatever weapons we have.”

“So...breaking up with our— _my_ —boyfriend so we can prostitute ourselves to the seniors?” Peri scoffed.

“It's not _prostitution_. It's called _becoming acquainted_. Unfortunately for you, you have a habit of getting acquainted with the wrong people."

Peri's fingers twitched into a fist. What would Imane know about her 'habits'? In that case, she wanted to see the kind of people Imane typically hung around. It was only fair!

Daphne squinted and shook her head incredulously, “Why do we even need you? You’re acting rude for no reason.”

“Because she’s totally cool!” Alex bounced on her heels causing her light pink pigtails to swing from side to side.

Imane chuckled, “Because, without me, rats will be the only ones making an entrance at this party of yours.”

Peri’s back slammed against the lockers. The hallway was only scattered with people, but every single pair of eyes present glared back at her. “Sorry.”

“Do you have a better idea? No? Then I suggest you go with mine unless your intention is to have meetings that waste your Friday nights every week.”

“But why do I have to break up with George? He’s not,” Peri swallowed, “ _Weird_ like the Doctor.”

“It’s only an option. If you truly love him, you won’t follow my advice. But,” Imane waited for Peri’s eyes to meet hers, “If you truly love yourself, you will.”

###  **Monday — evening**

With a yawn, George rolled himself over to face Peri. The day had felt so long that, as soon as he entered Peri's house, he flopped onto her bed and made himself scarce for an hour. But despite his idle body, his mind was cranked to full speed. “I had a dream," he mumbled.

Peri bit her thumb as she scribbled down her notes for geography class, "Really, MLK? I had no idea!"

George hit her thigh playfully, "About you and that one weird guy you're always hanging around.”

Peri propped herself against the headboard and set her textbook down on the nightstand, “Weird guy?”

“Yeah that—” his mouth expanded into another wide yawn.

“Cover your mouth, barbarian,” Peri laughed.

“Sorry. That guy with the coat. I swear he wears the same thing every day.”

Peri shrugged innocently, “I dunno.”

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

“I was going to congratulate you on making a new friend but I guess not.” George placed his folded hands upon his chest and shut his eyes once more. "Back to sleep."

Peri averted her eyes down to her wine coloured cardigan where there was a single strand of blond hair resting comfortably along the threads. She couldn't help but wonder whose head it belonged to. Though at the same time a part of her felt like speeding to the bathroom to check if—by some freak condition—her own hair had changed hue. But what were the odds of that occurring? Instead, with one fell motion, she plucked off the flaxen strand and flicked it onto the floor.

 _“He loves me_ …”

“You know Imane wanted me to dump you,” she said, knowing George's propensity for taking longer than usual to slide into REM.

George’s eyes shot open and he leaped up to rest on the backs of his forearms, “What do you mean she told you to dump me? You’re not gonna follow her like a dumb sheep are you?”

“I’m making friends, just like you said.”

“But I didn’t tell you to join a cult.”

“It’s not a cult we’re—”

“Trying to be popular,” they both uttered in unison.

“So to be popular you have to dump me,” he said solemnly.

“What’s your problem? Afraid that I’ll take her advice?” Peri poked him on the chest but he was anything but amused.

“ _Obviously_. What's so special about her that—”

“PERI!” A muffled, female voice called from beyond the threshold.

Peri bounded off the bed, “That’s my mom!” She gesticulated for George to stop, drop, and roll onto the floor between her bed and her nightstand, “Hurry!”

The sound of footsteps against wooden floorboards increased in volume. George dived into the cubbyhole and Peri threw her blanket over top of him just in time for Janine to come striding through the door with her arms outstretched and the eager expression of a mother who felt guilty for leaving their only child home alone for days on end.

“Peri, love!” Janine wrapped herself around her daughter and gave a tight squeeze, “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Peri forced through a gulp.

“I thought the plane would never take off. Oh!" She exhaled a large breath of air and pulled out her ponytail scrunchie. With a good shake, her long, brunette hair fell perfectly flat against her shoulders, "You don't know how fantastic it feels to be back in a more moderate climate.”

Janine took a few more steps into her daughter’s busy bedroom. Her eyes were affixed on her bed where everything was stripped except for the pillows and the mahogany fitted sheet. “Were you taking a nap?” she enquired, pursing her lips.

Peri nodded.

“Hm. Well I hope you weren’t too bored by yourself when I was away. You really should get some friends, dear. _Worthwhile_ friends.”

Peri crossed her arms.

“Yes, yes, I know,” Janine pecked her on the cheek, “Let’s not go there today. Are you hungry?”

“I’m starving! I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

Janine checked her wristwatch. The hands were both pointing south. “You'll cook?”

Peri stuck out the tip of her tongue, “No.”

With a contemptuous smirk, Janine tutted and made her egress out the door, “Kids today, I tell you! It’s always ‘mom do this’ and ‘mom do that’. No matter that I’ve just come back from a...”

Peri glanced back at George whose hand was high in the sky. And it wasn't to wave 'hello' or to give an 'all clear' thumbs up, but to flip the bird...at someone or the other. George peeked his eyes above the mattress, and when he did he was met with Peri presenting the stunning female member of the species.

###  **Tuesday — morning**

Peri sat outside in the common area finishing the last question for one of her elective assignments when she received a text from her mother. It wasn’t often Janine sent her messages—especially when she was home. If there was something sent, it was usually in the form of pictures from her travels or favours she needed done (in the form of chores, of course). But to see what looked like a paragraph worth of words made the hairs on the back of Peri's neck stand on end.

“I found a physics test on your desk,” it read, “It says you got a 64 percent. Is this recent? You must study harder, Peri, or ask for help if you don’t understand something. The semester will soon come to a close before you know it. I will email your teacher today and ask about tutoring for you. Love, mom xx.”

Peri crunched down on the side of her lip. Her mother never missed a beat when it came to grades. She wasn’t the kind of parent who beat their child over an eighty-nine instead of a ninety-four, but if anything dropped below a ‘B’ she was ready to contact the National Guard. Throughout her schooling, Janine made it a point to become well acquainted with her teachers—especially those teaching lucrative subjects—and had no qualms about contacting them at any hour of the day to ensure her only child was set up for success. At school-wide teacher-parent conference nights, they’d all ask the same question: ‘why are you here?’. Janine received a live update of Peri’s grades through the online web service and everyone knew that Peri was a stellar student. The conferences revolved more around her conduct than her test scores—’she’s a very admirable student, Ms Brown, but she focuses too much on boys’.

Another given. But with this ‘D-’ in physics, Janine was like a bull with her eyes honed in on the matador’s scarlet flag. She wouldn’t back down until her daughter was an 'A+' student across the board.

“Hey, Peri,” Daphne approached, gripping onto her purse strap, “I have a question and I really need your opinion.”

Peri lifted her attention from the empty reply box, “What is it?”

“Do you really think Imane can be a part of our crew?”

Peri looked up at Daphne's impassioned state and shrugged, “She’s a little aggressive but—”

“She told you to dump your boyfriend! I don’t think someone like that should be organising our party. It would only make it the most miserable event in existence.”

“I think you’re being a bit dramatic, Daphne. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

Daphne looked at Peri askance.

“Well...maybe she did. But she said it was my choice.”

Alex and Imane walked up to them both. Alex stuck up a peace sign and winked like a cutesy Japanese schoolgirl, “Imane wanted to know how much you paid to book the venue.”

Daphne turned to Imane who was standing as tall as ever, “Why do you want to know that?” she jeered, rolling her neck.

“Do you want to get your money back or not?” Imane replied.

On Daphne's silent command, the four girls snapped themselves around to watch Alexander strut down the courtyard. He flashed them a toothy grin dripping in sexual persuasion and greeted Peri in passing. The group turned back to Peri with looks of strong inquisition.

“I thought you didn’t know any seniors?” Imane said.

“I don’t.”

“He was.”

“He’s one of the most popular guys in school, Peri!” Daphne exclaimed, “He’s Charles’ best friend!”

Peri twisted her face, “Uhhh...who?”

“You don’t know who Charles is? Are you for real?” Alexia slapped her forehead and mouthed an exaggerated ‘WOW’.

“I’ve only just moved here; how would I know?”

Daphne leaned in to Peri, grabbing her leg like a weeping angel rising up from the depths, “Charles is the hottest guy in school. He’s a basketball player and he’s totally sexy. Don’t tell me you’re only coming here to attend classes?”

Peri scratched her head, “Isn’t that the point?”

“ _No_. Anyway, if Charles and his friends come to our party we’re going to attract so many more people.”

“Speaking of the devil,” Imane nodded.

Charles swaggered out from the hallway. The doors weren’t automatic, but the way he glided through them made it look like he had powers one could only hope to obtain. A gust of wind trailed behind him like Prince Charming, but his hair remained stiff and slicked back. His hands were stuffed into his dark green bomber jacket and, when he passed Peri and the others, he gave them all a cheeky wink. Daphne’s eyes bored into him like lasers, taking in every inch from his dark, tapered haircut to the way his skinny jeans accentuated all the right places. She bit her lip and whipped her head around to watch him every step of the way.

“Do you follow Alexander on social media?” Imane asked Peri, who was watching Charles with all the interest as she did a raw piece of pork.

“No.”

“Do it!”

“Why?”

“You have to get closer to him, Peri!” Daphne hissed.

“But I don’t _want_ to get closer to him. I have a boyfriend!”

“I didn’t say date him, I said _get closer_. You don’t have to break up with George, just flirt enough with Alex so we can get invited to a party where Charles is.”

Imane sized up Peri’s assets with a scowl, “It shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”

“The whole idea is to get Charles to notice us. That’s it. There’s nothing crazy going on. You can tell George the whole story; you don’t even have to lie. Say you’re going to a party with a bunch of upperclassmen.”

Peri couldn't believe her ears. Lying under any guise wasn't in her code of conduct. The harsh truth was always better than a compassionate fib. “Like my boyfriend would like me going to a party without him. If he did that to me, I’d flip!”

Imane huffed, “Give me your phone.”

Before Peri could react, Imane had already swiped Peri’s phone from her lap and logged into social media. With a few simple clicks, she was on Alexander’s profile. After hitting 'request friend' her thumb tapped like a well-oiled machine, pressing twice and sliding down with a rhythm that would make any Victorian factory foreman proud. Alex and Daphne leaned in to watch with enlarged pupils.

“What is she doing?” Peri asked.

“Liking all his pics,” Alex grinned.

“HEY!” Peri snatched back her mobile and assessed the damage done. At least ten pictures were ‘liked’ in the span of two seconds.

“And when he sends you a message, respond back,” said Imane, “Make sure to flirt. I have to go, tschüss.” She and Alex pounded fists and she quickly went on her merry way.

Peri hunched herself over and huffed to herself, “Imane’s starting to get on my nerves.”

Daphne snapped her fingers, “You see what I mean?”

“When I get dumped, I’ll thank her for that.”

“She’s doing this to help,” Alex replied, “You both know, deep down, she’s actually a nice person.”

###  **Tuesday — afternoon**

After another tedious day at school, Peri returned to the bus stop with George and Nate. The conversation of choice? The usual: whose house they were going to spend the evening at. It was a question that was always brought to attention despite the answer being the same nine times out of ten. Nate's parents were intrusive in a weird, comedic way (they would always insist on interrupting the conversation with their own corny jokes) and George's presence was still barred in the Brown household, therefore they were only left with one option.

“I think she’s ashamed of me,” George joked.

“It’s not that,” she lied, “I just don’t think it's the right time.”

“And _when_ is the right time, hmm?”

Peri was fully prepared to say ‘never’, but her attention strayed to her phone. Just as Imane prophesied, Alexander had sent her a message drooling over the fact that she had ‘liked’ all of his pictures. In return, he spammed her with a series of pixelated accolades as well.

“Pears?”

“I—” she quickly swiped over to a more benign app, “I’ll get back to you on that. I can’t introduce you this week.”

“Why not?”

“Uh, my mom wants to spend quality time. Just the two of us.”

Nate stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket and arched his brows, “The _whole_ weekend?”

“Yeah.”

When George’s eyes wandered away from her bubble, Peri switched back to social media and sent Alex a quick cloying message full of red-hot temptation. He wasted no time in responding back with similar sensualities. Peri read the text with as straight a face as she could muster. _“This better be worth it,”_ she said to herself.

George craned his neck, “Who ya texting?”

“Daphne.”

“Daphne the infamous,” he looked up at Nate who was standing beside their bench, “She’s planning a party.”

“A party? Let me guess: to get popular?”

“The problem is, no one wants to party with her!”

“Stop it,” Peri scowled, “You two act like the little brothers I never asked for.”

“You were saying the same thing about her before,” Nate said.

“Well I changed my mind!”

“What was once uncool is now cool; soon you and me will no longer be good enough for her,” George laughed.

“Sooner than later,” she muttered under her breath.

###  **Thursday — morning**

“Guess who’s invited to Benson’s party tomorrow night!”

Daphne, Alex, and Imane forced their heads away from the electromagnetic pull of their phones and cheered as Peri sauntered in with her device held high above her head.

“What!” Daphne gasped, stealing her mobile away and checking the details, “No fucking way! Charles will be there!” She bounced on the soles of her feet, “Look, look!”

Alex read the message displayed in bold on the screen, “‘Big party tomorrow at Benson’s. Bring your friends, especially if they’re as hot as you. Heart heart.’”

Daphne squealed, but Imane held up her hands in peace, “Calm down, Daph. We’re supposed to be cool, not desperate.”

“But we are,” Alex interjected.

“But we don’t have to look like it.”

###  **Friday — night**

Benson’s house was in the middle of the suburbs making it a perfect place to party till the wee hours of morning. Peri technically wasn’t supposed to be there—her mother was still peeved about the horrid grade she got in physics—but she managed to convince her by the success from her other classes. And Janine was proud that her daughter was at least taking the steps to join a 'study group off-campus'...

Peri and the girls arrived at Benson’s house together. Standing outside, they could already feel the rap beats pounding through their chests and taste the acidic flavour of spirits on their tongues. Before knocking on the door, Imane gave Daphne a reassuring ‘STOP’ towards the girl’s inclination to squeal and giggle when thinking about Charles. Peri wished that she had her own coach at the ready. Even though she knew why she was doing this, deep down she knew she didn’t want to see either Alexander nor Charles. It all felt... _wrong_. She already made up her mind that absolutely no touching of any kind would occur between her and any guy there, but the whole situation still felt underhanded. If George was in her place, she’d break up with him on the spot.

But then again, she didn’t have to tell anyone.

When Benson let them in, he laid down the ground rules: have fun and the bedrooms are down the hall. Peri held back a grimace but Daphne felt completely in her element. From the moment Benson turned them loose, she began greeting everyone in sight with hugs and French cheek kisses.

“This place is so cool!” she giggled, “Look at the patio!”

The shaded porch led out to a sprawling backyard complete with a pool, grill, and fire pit. On such a cool night, the entire crowd seemed to be outside dancing to music pumped through the internal speakers via Benson’s iPod. Every person there was holding either a bottle or a red plastic cup and the choreography was simple—grind.

Charles scooted past Peri's group as he made his way outdoors. He gazed down at the giddy, ebony-haired girl wearing a blue floral shirt and pink jacket and winked, “Hey.”

Daphne waited until he slid through the sliding glass doors before she unleashed her best rendition of a fully heated tea kettle. Imane cleared her throat and gave a furtive gesture towards the door. Daphne turned around. Ingrid and her friends were watching her with all the contempt in the world. But either Daphne didn’t notice or care, because she bolted towards the slender Pepsi Maxxer and enveloped her in a tight bear hug.

Ingrid’s plasticine face remained stoic and her body stayed upright like an old oak tree.

“She doesn’t hold a grudge, does she?” Peri whispered to Alexia.

“That’s the girl who insulted you, right?”

Peri smacked her lips, “Yep!”

“Ooh, this is awkward…”

Peri scanned the room. In one corner, Alexander took a swig of beer before licking his lips with a ravenous gaze. Peri stuck in her neck and ushered Alexia to the opposite corner near a Bob Ross-looking landscape painting. “Don’t leave me alone. I think Alex wants to bone me,” she whispered sharply.

“I won’t leave you,” she responded, “Let’s get a drink.”

Daphne re-entered the building squealing at the top of her lungs. At the sight of no one familiar, she lept back out into the grass and wandered aimlessly until she found Imane. With abandon, she grabbed ahold of Imane’s arms and bounced with glee, “Charles said he wants to be alone! I think something’s going to happen!”

Imane exhaled an audible breath through her nose, “I’m sure he does.”

With cups of water in hand, Alex and Peri strolled back into the living room. Alexander had moved his base outside, but he was still in the same position staring at Peri like a GPS tracking radar.

“He hasn’t blinked once,” Alex whispered, “Either he’s checking you out or he’s a robot.”

“Stop looking at him or he’ll come back in here…”

It was only a moment later when someone's phone rang with the default Apple ringtone. There was a Rube Goldberg effect of everyone in the room checking their devices before subsequently stuffing them away. The only one who didn't participate was the girl standing beside Peri.

After a few more rings, Alex slowly picked up her phone and pressed the green symbol, “Oh, hey, girl!" Peri shot her a glance and mouthed words of discouragement, but Alex was adamant that the call was 'urgent', "Peri, sorry, I have to take this—”

“No, Alex, please!” Peri quivered, “Don’t leave me here!”

“Just talk about botany! That’ll put him off!” Alex implored, breaking free from Peri’s grasp and making her way out the front door.

“Wait, I can’t—”

“Booottanny!” Alex trilled.

Peri sipped her water silently to herself. She could feel her hands beginning to clam. She wished the water was colder. She wished she was anywhere else but here. The second front door shut, Alexander, with one hand in his pocket and another holding a plastic cup, approached her. “You’ve been staring at me this whole time. It’s kinda creepy,” he purred.

“You’re the one staring at me!”

“Ooh, you’re a sassy one. Just how I like them.”

“W—what?” Peri took a step back but almost fell onto a lamp shade that warbled behind her legs, “Uhh...what’s your favourite kind of flower?”

“Flower?” By the natural suave tone of his voice, Peri could tell a million girls had been in this same position once before.

“Yeah! I have a few—”

He placed his hands on the wall on both sides of her, making her unable to escape without doing a quick, Lara Croft duck underneath his arms, “I don’t have a favourite. But,” he licked his lips again, “I’ll gladly pollinate you any day.”

Peri’s eyes darted around her surroundings. It looked like everyone was in the midst of some kind of romantic fling. To think about all the spit being exchanged that night made her queasy. Despite the situation about to unfold before her, her mind insisted on thinking about the Doctor. Did he ever...do these sorts of things? Not pushing himself on a girl—no, he definitely wasn’t that type—but did he ever have casual hook-ups with people he just met? In a house owned by someone he didn’t know?

Peri mentally shook her head. He wouldn’t dare. This was probably the kind of event that made him stick up his nose and type a strongly worded essay on social media about the horrid state of juvenile behaviour. Would he think less of her knowing that she wished to frequent these types of events? Her mother would, no doubt.

“No thanks,” she said, pushing him away with the palm of her hand, “I’m taken.”

“So? No one has to know anything.”

“Unlike you, I have morals.”

“Ooooh, moraalls,” Alex rolled his eyes, “You’re such a nerd.”

“Maybe I am.”

“But I like it. Nerds are hot.”

Peri crossed her arms, “Get away from me.”

“No.”

He left her with no choice. Talking obviously wouldn't get her out of anything except her clothes. With one fluid motion she doused him in a flood of warm water. Alex flinched but managed to shield at least one part of his face with his hands and cup. He spat out an expletive as he wiped the whole of his face with his hand, and in the interim Peri spirited herself out the front door, slamming it behind her. The painting on the wall shimmied. Alex looked back at the scores of people bound to be laughing at him from outside...but they weren’t watching him. They were focused on Ingrid who was about to get _her_ just desserts from Imane. After being hosed down with sticky juice, Ingrid threw up her hands and the two girls began to slap and hit each other like contestants on a bad reality show. The crowd cheered for no one in particular, but instead with general phrases of 'beat her up!' and 'get her!'. Charles bounded away from Daphne to join the bystanders who shouted and pulled out their phones. Their pupils were dilated with the anticipation of a wicked brawl, but before the fight could escalate to anything worth recording, Daphne pushed her way through the crowd, dragging Imane with her by the crook of her arm.

Once in the relative safety of Benson's living room, Imane fled the scene leaving Daphne to until the dozens of brows that had knitted into an unseemly, drunken mess. But all she could mewl was 'why'.


	4. Chapter 4

###  **Saturday — afternoon**

Peri knocked on the door to George’s apartment. Now that that dreck of a party was behind her, she could focus on more important things. Whatever that meant. No amount of washing up afterwards could remove the dirt she felt from being in such close contact with Alexander. Then there was the disappointment over Alexia not bothering to stick by her word. What if something terrible had happened that night? She couldn’t say much for Daphne or Imane—they were in their own little worlds. After the apparent fight and Daphne’s ruined moment, they all jumped into a taxi and went home without saying much of anything to each other. The awkward tension in the vehicle was palpable. Peri was reminded of how much she missed her old friends back home—if something crazy went down at a party, no one would hear the end of it. The driver would’ve paid _them_ to shut up. But here she was with three other girls who claimed to be each other’s friends and yet none bothered to discuss what had happened.

George’s sister opened the door and they greeted each other with a polite wave, “Come in,” she said.

Gunshots were blasting through the house via the surround sound. George was shouting about ‘headshots’ and ‘no scopes’ at the television while David cheered him on with advice of who to target next and reminders to reload. Nate was quiet by comparison, his tongue sticking out from the side of his mouth as his fingers mashed the buttons on the controller.

Peri leaned herself against the bar, “Hi.”

George flipped up his head in acknowledgement.

“...Whatcha playing?”

“We’re killing zombies,” Nate replied.

George snuck in a cursory glance at his girlfriend, “What are you up to?”

“I’m obviously here to see you.”

“Really? Don’t you have some party to plan?”

“My life doesn’t revolve around Daphne, George.”

George leaned forward and slammed the controller against his thigh, “Fuck! He almost got me!”

“Like yours does with video games…”

“Damn, hold on Peri.”

Another round of ammunition barreled through the speakers followed by random grunts and screams from the non-player characters.

“I’ll come some other time, then, since you can’t be bothered to talk to your own girlfriend.”

George cast her another glare, “Davey, take over,” he sighed, tossing him the remote, “Quick, there’s a horde of them coming from the warehouse.”

“I see ‘em! Sil’s in the hizzay!” David continued playing from his reclined position. A stark contrast to Nate, who was about an inch away from falling off his seat. “Dude you suck at this.”

George rose from the couch and followed Peri into the kitchen. They stood on opposite sides of the sink looking at one another with the straightest of faces, “Now what’s up?”

“Why don’t you answer any of my messages?”

“Busy.”

“Playing _Call of Duty_?”

“Yup.”

Peri tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t have you over to meet my mom yesterday. We can do it next Friday, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

Peri wrapped her arms around herself, “Are you sure? Or are you just saying that because you know it's what I want to hear?”

“I’m serious,” he plastered on a smile, “I can’t wait to meet your Nobel Peace Prize winning mom.”

“Wow, way to be sarcastic.”

“I’ll be there, Pears, just send me the time,” George peeked beyond the kitchen to see how his friends were doing. “Anyway, I gotta go. You can stay if you want.”

“No, it’s alright.”

"Are you sure?"

Her head bobbed slightly.

George gave her a fat smooch on the lips, “Alright. Call me.”

Peri proceeded to leave, but she couldn’t help but overhear the drastic change in tone that George had with his friends compared to when he spoke to her. Before he sat back down he was shouting in full, complete sentences and gesticulating with vibrancy. Her exit went unnoticed by any of them.

###  **Monday — morning**

“He always acts like he doesn’t care. Shooting up fake zombies makes him more excited than talking to me.”

Alex smirked, “Sounds like my brother.”

“What am I supposed to think if my own boyfriend finds me boring?”

“He might think you’re ashamed of him since you always sneak him around.”

“Why does the problem always have to be about me?”

“I’m not saying it is; I’m just giving possible reasons. Why don’t you want him to meet your mom?”

Peri scribbled mindlessly on a stray piece of paper in the school library. She debated whether to give a false answer or tell the truth. If she told the complete truth, Alex might be offended; but if she lied, then she wouldn’t get the answers she was hoping to obtain. She shrugged and opted for the third option: “It’s a long story.”

Daphne threw her bag on the floor before taking a seat at their library table. She leaned in on her forearms, taking in every last inch of the two pairs of pupils staring back at her, “I told Imane that she can’t be a part of our crew.”

Peri and Alex cleared their throats.

“Uh, why?” Peri asked, scrunching her eyes in confusion.

“Because she ruined our reputation on Friday. Now we have to apologise to Charles; tell him that this was all an accident and that we aren’t full of drama.”

“You don’t even know what happened.”

“But you _know_ how rude Imane is.”

“Knowing Ingrid, she probably deserved it...just like Alexander.”

Daphne shook her head, “Ingrid’s not a drama queen. I’ve known her longer than you.”

“If you say so.”

Daphne’s phone buzzed. She turned it over and squealed, leaving no doubt about the sender. “It’s Charles! I think he wants us to sleep together!”

“Nice one girl! Ayy!” Alex held up her hand for Daphne to slap, but the latter was so engrossed in the text message that she hadn't noticed her friend's gesture.

Peri tugged on her collar, “Shouldn’t you get to know him better first?”

“Why? It’s _Charles_. I’d rather do it with the coolest and hottest guy in school than some loser.”

“But you just met him…”

“You’re telling me you didn’t jump into bed with George when you first saw him?”

“Actually, I didn’t,” Peri enunciated, with a roll of the neck, “I’m saving myself for marriage.”

Alex scrunched up her face, “Why?”

“Because I want to?” She fiddled with the gold chain of her Saint Christopher, "Is there something wrong with that?"

Daphne blinked, “And George doesn’t mind?”

“Oh my gosh, having sex isn’t a one-way street! I don’t care what he thinks!” Peri had made the boundary quite clear when they first started dating. George _was_ eager to bang a gong on what seemed like their first night of being exclusive, but she quickly pressed a finger to his lips and stood her ground. If there was one thing her mother complemented her on in regards to her dating life, it was her willingness to abstain.

Alex’s brows perked to attention, but she kept her mouth shut.

Daphne, on the other hand, couldn't help but comment, “Okay, but thanks to me we’ll be the most popular girls in school. I don’t know why you won’t support me.”

“I support you!” Alex chirped.

“Thank you, Alex, I knew you would.”

Daphne glared at Peri, but Peri paid her no mind. She turned over her phone to check the time and immediately began stuffing her strewn papers back into their appropriate folders, “I gotta go.”

“And where are you going? We were in the middle of a conversation.”

“I have tutoring.”

“Tutoring? Or _tutoring?”_ Alex winked at Daphne who winked back with a sideways smile.

“Regular physics tutoring. It’s literally not that big of a deal, alright? Geez.” After pushing the folders down into her bag, Peri rose to her feet and threw the sack against her back, “I’ll talk to you guys later.”

“What’s her problem?” Daphne whispered.

###  **Monday — afternoon**

Peri plodded up the steps and around the bend until she reached her physics class. Out of all the classes she was taking during the semester, this one was by far the most annoying. None of it made any sense! No matter how many times the teacher repeated himself, she could never wrap her head around the concepts. It didn’t help that math was such an integral part of it, but oddly enough she was acing her algebra class. So much for her dream of being a rocket scientist...

Peri entered the room and waved to her instructor who was hunched over his desk grading papers. The science rooms were always alloted the most amount of space and physics was no exception. Wide, thick wooden workbenches covered in deep scratches and dents were used in place of desks; and there was a dark grey formica countertop running around the perimeter of the room. Hanging from the ceiling were yellow extension cords rolled up into their plastic canisters and there were student-built robots, cars, and rockets interspersed in various places around the room.

“I’m here for tutoring, Mr Andrews,” Peri said, leaning against the podium positioned at the front.

Mr Andrews rolled his spectacles back behind his head and set down his red pen, “Oh thank you for reminding me! I almost forgot.”

“You forgot?” Peri stepped back towards the door. In that case, she could be doing a million other things during her lunch hour.

“Slipped my mind for a second. You know how time moves so quickly sometimes. Yes, I remember your mother emailing me about tutoring. Your thermodynamics test grade wasn’t too hot.”

Peri shrugged, “I’ll do better next time.”

“But this will all be on the final, so it’s imperative that you understand the concepts now. This class only gets harder each module.”

“Alright, let’s get started then,” she set her bag onto the workbench.

“I hope you won’t mind if I have a student teach you? I have a meeting I must attend in,” he glanced at his wristwatch, “Five minutes. But don’t fret, he’s one of the best students I’ve had in my thirty year career.”

“Fine by me!”

“Good, uh, he’s back in the storage closet…” Mr Andrews leaned into the tiny room behind the fume hood, “She’s here...Yep...Yep...No, you can do that later... _Yes,_ I’ll get Grant to assemble the chassis...Right...Okay one too many questions for right now...It’s alright.”

Peri furrowed her brow. What could they possibly be talking about in there? She continued fiddling with her belongings on one of the workbenches as two pairs of footsteps began illustrating the Doppler effect.

“Here he is, Peri, so I’ll leave you two to it. I’ve gotta go now.” And the instructor strided over to the door, shutting it behind him. Peri, still busy removing her physics materials, muttered a ‘bye’ that only she could hear.

“Hold on, I can’t find my test,” she added, shuffling through the various papers stuffed in her physics folder.

“Take your time,” said a firm voice from behind.

Peri's face went blank as she slowly pulled out the exam from its pocket. Well that voice certainly sounded...familiar? She screwed her neck around to see the tall, colourful glory of none other than,

“Doctor?!” she exclaimed, “Don’t tell me _you’re_ my tutor!”

“Indeed I am,” his face radiated with charm, “Is that a problem?”

“No...I just wasn’t expecting it…” she attempted to crumple up her test behind her back but the five sheets of bounded paper wouldn’t back down without a fight.

“Is that your test you’re desecrating?”

“No.”

He lifted a suspicious eyebrow.

She stared back at him with wide, surreptitious eyes.

The Doctor shook his head and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I can’t fathom why every student of mine seems content to hide their terrible grades from me. If I was inclined to judge those who did poorly, I wouldn’t have volunteered for this position in the first place.”

Peri stifled a laugh, “I can guess why.”

“Oh?" He leaned his hands against the podium bannisters like a university professor or preacher ready to edify their congregation, "Do tell.”

“You act like you’re smarter than everyone else, you call yourself by the most pretentious name in the book, _and_ you’re allowed to not do any work in class.”

“Hm,” he stroked his chin, “Shall I present my rebuttal one by one?”

“Oh yes, do enlighten us,” Peri bellowed in a faux posh accent.

The Doctor began to slowly pace along the confines of the front of the room, “Well, first of all, I call myself ‘the Doctor’ because I like the name—simple as that. But it's hardly the most pretentious name in the book, Peri. I could've taken a cue from history and adopted the cognomen _'Claudius the Great'_ or _'Claudius the Handsome'_..."

"Or 'Mad Claudius'..." Peri said under her breath.

The Doctor halted his step and looked at her askance, "Hm?"

"Oh, nothing! What else have you got?"

"To your next point," his steps resumed, "The teachers _do_ give me assignments, but as I’m on a specialised learning plan I am given more advanced concepts to study compared to the average student.”

Peri cackled out loud, " _'Specialised learning plan'?_ Yeah right! I bet your parents will bribe the admins to make you valedictorian, too!"

He stopped in his tracks again. "Bribes? _Bribes?"_ the Doctor expelled a huff that was filled to the brim with pretention, "My dear Peri, have you _seen_ the fools running around this place? To claim that my intellect hinges on the necessity of a _bribe_ is completely offensive."

Peri sucked in air through her teeth, "See? That's exactly what I mean!"

"What?"

She blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. For someone with supposedly more intellect than Einstein, Newton, and Al-Khwarizmi combined, he had his slow moments like any 'normal' person. Call the brigade! "'Acting smarter than everyone else'? You literally just proved me right."

"I am not _acting_ ," the Doctor grabbed a dry erase marker from the board and uncapped it to test the ink level, "My goodness, you are a negative one today aren't you?"

"And you get a kick out of being as flamboyant and egotistical as possible, don't you?"

He turned to her with an impish smile spreading across his lips, “...I invoke my right against self-incrimination.”

Peri rolled her eyes and, with a flounce of the wrist, presented him with her near-crumpled test paper. Where was the line drawn between intelligent and pretentious? Or great and mad? "Here you go, your royal highness."

“A-ha, thank you.” He set down the marker (ensuring the cap was properly affixed) and grabbed the dossier. Each question, answer, and stray mathematical notes in the margins were inspected thoroughly. “Hm. Hm…Yes, good...Common mistake...An admirable attempt...No effort made there whatsoever…”

Peri—who had since diverted her attention to the details of a _Star Trek_ poster hanging on the wall—soon heard the furtive little comments her friend was making. She broke free from the Enterprise's tractor beam, pounced back over to the Doctor, and slapped down the paper in his hands. “Okay thanks!” she exclaimed, “Can we get to the _tutoring_ part? You’re supposed to be helping me, not assessing my aptitude.”

The Doctor was unfazed by her sudden outburst, “In order to help you, I must know where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Now may I be allowed to continue?”

Peri dragged herself to the nearest seat and plopped herself into it. At this rate they’d only get through one question before the bell rang. She wondered who all of these ‘other students’ were that he claimed to teach. There was no way he had a class full of kids who would willingly subject themselves to his quirks. And what was the deal with him being on a unique lesson plan? They didn't attend an IB school, so he couldn't be drowning in busy work like those students were. Peri wondered what the 'advanced concepts' he studied were. It seemed like the more she learned about the Doctor, the more elusive he became. If he was so smart, why didn't he join the club of those eight year olds who were starting on their fifth doctoral degree?

“Right,” he said, flipping the papers over to the front side, “Relatively simple mistakes; nothing that can’t be easily addressed. Shall we begin?”

Peri lifted her head from her phone screen, “Geez, I thought you’d never say so!”

The Doctor returned to centre stage, scribbling the various equations and formulas necessary for the module. In the meantime, Peri switched seats to the spot where her papers and writing utensils were. She grabbed her favourite pen from the pencil pouch and clicked it open, "Hey, Doctor?"

"Hay?" he responded, still focused on the task at hand, "Is that the new diet fad sweeping the campus as of late?"

He never ceased to amaze.

"Oh yeah, totally. I carry it in my bag and sneak bites in when the teachers are lecturing. My alter ego is actually a horse, you know."

"Don't be presumptuous."

Peri stuck out her tongue behind his back, "I wanted to know why you came here—to Baltimore High. Why didn't you go to some IB school...or start college when you were still learning to crawl?" She realised her question was only stealing away more time that should've been used for physics, but, heck, even her instructor didn't seem to mind.

"Do you wish you never met me?"

The sudden bluntness of his comment sent a wave of vertigo through Peri's head, "What? No. I'm just wondering."

The Doctor turned around and rested his palm against the metal marker slot jutting out from the board, "Quite honestly, I never gave it much thought. But there has to be a reason why I found myself here."

"Like what?"

"I could ask you the same question. Perhaps it boils down to one simple concept: kismet."

###  **Tuesday — morning**

Janine Brown sat on the edge of the sofa hunched over the living room table covered in manuscripts and glossy photographs. She tapped a pencil on the side of her chin as she reminisced about her recent trip to North Africa. Whenever peripheral vision and acute hearing noticed her daughter stepping down the stairs, she threw down her pencil and greeted her with a wide smile, “Peri, love! Good morning.”

Peri was already dressed for school, but she was busy finger-combing her hair as she made her way towards the couch. It was rare to see her mother working at home. Everything was usually done in her office or in Timbuktu somewhere.

“Hiya, mom. Whatcha doing?”

“Paperwork. The stuff you’ll be drowning in once you get your degree.” They pecked each other on the cheek, “But since you’re here, you allow me a spare moment of breather.”

She slid a notebook from her lap and set it neatly on the table in front of her before reaching for her coffee, “Tell me, how’s school?”

Peri broke a knot that was lodged in her hair, “Fine.”

“How’s tutoring?”

“A waste.”

Janine situated herself to better look upon her daughter, “A waste? How so?”

“It’s the guy they have doing it, that’s all,” she mumbled, twirling a few strands around her finger.

“A student tutor?”

Peri made a hum of affirmation.

“Why? Is he not teaching you well? I can email your instructor now and tell him to assign you someone better.”

“No! No,” Peri rubbed her nose, “He’s fine. It's just weird.”

“The science ones always are. But he’s an adequate teacher?”

“I guess.”

Janine sipped her coffee twice, “Good. That’s what matters; I hope to see an ‘A’ on the next test. What about your social life, hm? How’s that going?”

Peri crossed her arms and slouched into the cushions.

“Still on your own?”

“No...I...have a boyfriend.”

“A boyfriend? _Again_ , Peri?” Janine huffed, “Love, I really hope he isn’t one of those—”

“I was thinking that you could meet him,” Peri interrupted.

“Of course I’m willing to meet any one of my daughter’s love interests but, really, Peri, you choose the same deadbeats each time. Excuse my French. Tall, blond, and immature—the only difference is their names.”

Peri parted her lips but didn’t know what to say. There was no believing her if she said, 'he’s different this time!' because Janine—and _Peri_ herself—knew otherwise.

“I...was thinking we could have dinner. On Friday.”

Janine picked up her notebook and flipped to a clean page, “Sure. Be there or be square.”

Peri kissed her lightly on the cheek, “Thanks, mom.”

###  **Tuesday — morning**

Peri’s head was buried in her phone as the other three girls prattled on about Charles, sex, parties, and virgins. Every time they met it was the same four subjects being talked about. The only exception being if Imane showed up, then the conversation was directed towards parties and popularity only.

Each passing day she felt herself becoming more like the Doctor. Not pretentious, but apathetic towards the common conversation of the average high schooler. She once brought up a new species of plant that was discovered in New Zealand and how it possessed a unique form of defence. The girls responded with blank stares before Daphne swerved the discussion back onto her and Charles’ supposed sex life.

“Hello, Peri,” the Doctor smiled as he approached the group who were sitting on the concrete benches in the middle of the courtyard, “I figured you’d be here.”

Peri whipped her head upwards. Finally, some peace in a weary world. “Oh, hi, Doctor. What’s up?”

The three other girls snapped their lips shut as they watched the exchange unfold before them.

“After our productive tutoring session yesterday,” he whipped out a folded sheet of paper from his coat and handed it to her, “I’ve brought you an assortment of practice problems. Fill them out and hand it back at any time.”

Peri frowned, “Did you make this yourself?”

“The questions themselves, no. They were selected from various textbooks I had lying about, so I do apologise in advance if there are any typing errors.”

There was the faint sound of giggling.

“Wow, uh, thanks,” Peri said, folding the sheet into fours and stuffing it in her front bag pocket. “I’ll do that.”

“As you should. Now I must be going; onwards and upwards!”

When he was out of earshot, Peri turned to face her friends with a scowl, “What’s so funny?”

“He’s the epitome of a loser, Peri,” Imane deadpanned.

“Totally. And why does he speak like that?” Daphne laughed behind her hand.

“Like what?” Peri protested.

“Like a robot! Or some old-timey aristocrat. 'I do apologise if there are any typing errors',” Daphne mocked, "Like what the heck?"

“Excuse you, I happen to like the way he speaks!”

“I can tell,” Imane crossed her arms, “You already have a pet name for him. Last time I checked his name was Claudius. Look, Peri, we appreciate what you did with Benson’s party (even if it was a bust) but now you’re pedaling backwards. Then I hear you’re still with that boyfriend of yours who doesn’t even like you.”

Peri jumped to her feet, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Yes you do. If you don’t want to be popular, just say so. It’s fine.”

“But I do!”

“I can’t get through to her,” Imane whispered sternly aside to Alex, “Lost cause.”

Daphne grabbed Peri’s arm, “Is he that important? I don’t want our reputation ruined because you insist on being friends with that creepy clown. If he came to our party, no one would want to show up.”

Peri snatched back her arm, “He wouldn’t dare stoop so low.”

###  **Friday — afternoon**

“Peri? When is this boyfriend of yours supposed to be coming?” Janine said as she prepared the table setting, “The food’s almost ready.”

“He said he’ll be a bit late.” Peri closed her textbook and peeked over at her messages, “I know you’re done with everything now, but do you need any extra help?”

“No, no, you continue with your schooling. It warms my heart to see you working so diligently.”

A few minutes passed.

Then a quarter hour.

Then a half hour.

“Peri? Are you sure he’s on his way?”

A part of her didn’t want to check her phone. The other part didn’t care. She knew that, if George was this late, he would have a lame excuse at the ready to give her. If it wasn’t for her mother being a part of the event, she would’ve given up and gone to bed, but for her mother’s sake it was only fair that she made the necessary call.

She pressed on George’s phone number and, to her surprise, he picked up on the second ring, “George? What are you doing?!”

“Sorry, stuff happened.”

“What kind of stuff!?”

Janine glanced over from the kitchen and Peri flashed her a polite smile before dashing to a more secluded area.

“I forgot that I promised my mom to help her with stuff so...yeah.”

“You can’t come, is that what you’re trying to say?”

“I’m sorry, Pears. She won’t let me leave.”

There was a faint feminine voice giggling in the background of his line. Peri knitted her brow and honed in her hearing like an experienced K-9. The girl was saying something she couldn’t make out, but the smooth, rich tone of her voice raised alarm bells in her head.

“Who was that?” Peri spat.

“My sister.”

"Your sister? Are you kidding me?!"

"No. Look, I gotta go."

“Your sister doesn’t sound—!”

“I gotta go, Peri, bye.”

The line went dead.


	5. Chapter 5

###  **Monday — morning**

In the cafeteria before school, Peri purchased two smoothies. As opposed to rush hour (also known as ‘lunch’), breakfast was the one time when finding a seat indoors was as simple as walking in and choosing your preferred table. She opted for a place near the window overlooking the bus ramp and teacher’s parking lot.

The sun was attempting to wake from its slumber on the western hemisphere, but by the swathes of grey clouds swaddling him back to sleep, he was opting that today be deemed _a wash_.

“Hey, Peri,” Nate said, taking a seat in front of her and pointing at the plastic cup full of pink, fruity deliciousness, “Is that for me?”

“Yep. Drink up!”

Nate’s face lit up, “Thanks!”

There was a brief second of silence as he slammed his straw on the table to open the thin packaging. Peri never understood why boys always did that—it wasn’t difficult to tear open the top like a 'normal person'. Beating a straw into submission wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of _macho_.

“What did you want to talk about?” he continued.

Peri took a swig of her drink, “So...! How was your weekend?”

Nate patted his messy pseudo-pompadour and shrugged, “Fine, I guess. The usual.”

“And Friday night?”

“Chilled. Played some _Assassin’s Creed_.”

“By yourself?”

Nate sipped his smoothie, “Why? What happened Friday?”

Peri’s eyes lowered to the blue swirly, cosmic pattern of the lunch table. They probably weren’t intended to appear interstellar, but the way the tiny flecks of white paint were overlaid over a brilliant blue made her wonder why the school didn’t host an astronomy course. “Only embarrassing the hell out of me in front of my mom.”

Nate cocked his head with confusion.

“George.”

“What about him?”

Peri bit the side of her lip and ran her finger through the condensation sliding down the side of her cup, “I think George was with Ingrid. Or some other girl who obviously wasn’t me.”

“His sister?”

“That’s what he said, but I’m not stupid. I can tell one girl’s voice from another’s, even if it is through a spotty telephone service.”

“Ah…”

“Do you know if there’s something between them?” She gazed deeply into Nate’s eyes but he quickly averted his to watch a bus who was rounding the corner of the lot.

“No, not really. Why don’t you talk to George about it?”

“I did. He got mad and told me I should trust him more.”

Nate leaned forward in his seat. “Peri,” he said, ensuring eye contact returned between them, “Why are you dating him?”

Peri knitted her brow, “What do you mean?”

“George may be my best friend, but I don’t want to see you kill yourself over him. If you don’t feel happy in the relationship, break up with him.”

Peri sucked air through her teeth and fell back in her seat, “Is George happy?”

Nate’s shoulders rose and fell, “To be honest he doesn’t talk about it much.”

“Of course he doesn’t.”

“Seriously, Peri,” he reached over to set a firm hand over hers, “No one’s forcing you to date him.”

###  **Monday — afternoon**

“He kisses _SO_ well. Like, I thought I was getting my face eaten off.”

Alex snickered, “Gosh that’s so hot. I want someone to eat my face like that.”

Peri rolled her eyes and sighed quietly to herself. From the opposite side of the courtyard she could clearly see George with his friends talking about the same mundane twaddle that she was being subjected to.

“Well you can’t have Charles. He’s mine.”

“I don’t need him. I’m gonna ask the Doctor—I bet he gives those wet, sloppy makeout sessions too.”

Daphne pretended to retch, “You’re disgusting.”

Peri’s face hardened. She could’ve—she _wanted_ —to tell them off right then and there. Give them a piece of her mind about their constant insults and disparaging comments against the Doctor, but she decided to _not_ entertain them today. She wasn’t in the mood.

George slipped his phone out from his pocket and twiddled his thumbs against the screen.

 _“Smile a little?”_ his text read, with a smiley face emoticon ending the message.

“...I once saw this film with freaky clowns, and ever since then I’ve had a fetish…”

 _“Smile yourself.”_ Peri texted back. No emoticon needed.

“You’re joking. So when you drive past McDonalds it gets you wet?”

 _“I’m smiling._ ” George leaned over and grinned with his full set of teeth showing.

“Nah, I like ‘em more mysterious. Like Pennywise. Hell yeah I’d climb into that sewer.”

“What the fuck, Alex? You need help, seriously.”

Peri flashed him a sardonic smile; one that felt like pulling teeth. George yanked out his phone and typed again.

“Only rainbow man can save me,” Alex bellowed, slapping her fist against her chest.

“You and Peri are going to be the death of this crew, I can see it now. You both have problems.”

“Whaaa? I don’t want to be friends with the dude, just—” Alex's voice trailed off and Daphne uttered an “EWWW” that could be heard a mile away.

 _“Don’t be mad!!?”_ George texted.

Peri pulled a stray strand of hair from her lips and rummaged through the front pocket of her bookbag to pull out her earphones. After inserting the jack into her device, she calmly set each earpiece into her ears and swiped through her playlists.

“If Imane was here, she’d slap you into oblivion,” Daphne intoned.

 _“Text me when you’re done sulking_ ,” he added.

Peri clicked on her favourite _Iron Maiden_ track and cranked the volume to eleven. Just then Charles walked by. Despite shooting Daphne a stolid expression, Peri knew that she’d squeal regardless of how impassive his demeanour was. Thank goodness for heavy metal.

Following about twenty paces behind him was Alexander. He paid the group no mind as he strided along the courtyard, but Peri, without a thought, paused her music and leapt from her seat.

“Hey!” she called, raising a hand.

Alexander’s lips twisted into a coy smile, “Hey. Are you coming to the party on Friday?”

“Yeah!”

“Later, then,” he winked.

“See ya!”

Peri strutted back to her concrete bench—ignoring George’s perturbation— and informed the others that they were invited to another gathering on Friday where _Charles_ and the other upperclassmen would be in attendance.

Daphne squealed and hugged Peri with a vengeance.

###  **Tuesday — afternoon**

Peri checked the time. Two minutes late. With his track record, it was soon to be two hours.

She knew what she had to do today. If not for her own sanity, for the emancipation of George. In a few minutes’ time (if he ever decided to appear) he’d be free to play video games and watch sports all he wanted without anyone nagging him in the back of his head.

After purchasing a tea for herself, she made her way to the back porch of the cafe under an awning made of strung Edison lights and colorful baubles. This was the sort of place she could see the Doctor and his friends relaxing in. Inside, it screamed ‘art school’ with its bright orange walls; mini stage for open-mic nights; wide screen television fitted with twenty types of game consoles; worn faux-leather couches; and a brilliant assortment of niche teas, coffees, and pastries. Paintings and sculptures—that were created by the patrons as told by the homegrown quality and the varying styles—adorned the walls and countertops, and there was a small bookshelf holding a sign that read, ‘Take one, leave one!’.

Taking her seat at a picnic table for four, Peri tore the wrapper off her straw and plunged it into the plastic cup. For once, she hoped the Doctor wouldn’t appear; he’d only send her mind into a warp and ultimately end up interrupting important, overdue business. At the same time, she didn’t want him to meet George. She didn’t know why—perhaps it was akin to a dying star colliding into the sun—but it just felt _wrong_.

George arrived a few minutes later. Without so much as a greeting, he slid into a seat on the opposite side of the table and slammed his open palm against the varnished, teal wood, “So, what is it?” he smiled.

“There’s something between you and Ingrid, isn’t there?”

The faux cordiality whipped off his face, “Are you fucking kidding me, Peri? You’re still thinking about that?”

Peri scoffed with incredulity, “You really thought I was gonna let that slide? I heard her voice on the phone, George.”

“It was my _sister._ ”

“If it was your sister, why was she moaning in the background?”

“ _Moaning_?”

“Yeah, George. She was flirting and making all these suggestive comments. I could hear it in the tone of her voice. Unless you’re weirder than I thought, why would your sister be doing that? Especially when you’re on the phone?”

“She was watching a movie,” He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, “You know how sexual those HBO films can be out of nowhere.”

Peri ran her fingers backwards through her hair and leaned as close as she could towards George. Her piercing eyes burned into his, making him want to look away, but he refused to let _her_ of all people make him into a coward, “Okay, dude, what’s with all the lies? Why can’t you tell the truth?”

“It is the truth! I don’t know how else you want me to fucking explain myself! Geez!” he swivelled himself so he was perpendicular to her. “You’re effing annoying, I swear,” he muttered.

“Then just leave me alone!”

“What do you mean?" he clicked his teeth and snapped his fingers like an old Hollywood film star, "Ah...you want us to take a break?”

“No, George,” she grumbled.

“Then what is it? All I want is for you to stop overthinking everything!”

“You act as though this is the only thing you’ve done. You don’t even pay me any attention. You show more enthusiasm towards your million friends and your fucking zombies than you do with me.”

“Dude, all you ever want to talk about is like...plants and other weird crap no one understands.”

“Plants!? I barely talk about plants with you or anyone else! The crap _YOU_ talk about is inane to the point of driving me to drink!”

George laughed through his nose, “My gosh, Pears, you really are easily influenced.”

Peri scowled softly, “...Don’t call me that.”

“First your wannabe girl friends then him. Whatever his name is. I bet he’s what this whole stupid conversation is about.”

Her scowl hardened instantly at the thought of George spitting vitriol about a man he didn't even know. She bounded to her feet and spat, “Leave the Doctor out of this!”

“You don’t see me whining about how you smile more around him than with me, but whatever. Anyway,” he rose from his seat, unfazed by it all, “Are we done?”

Peri balled her hands into two fists until the knuckles began to discolour, “Once you leave here,” she swallowed, “I never want to see you again,”

George looked down at her eyes that were glaring up at his with all the passion of a Californian wildfire.

“EVER.”

###  **Wednesday — morning**

After officially breaking ties with George Stewart, Peri went straight home, locked herself in her bedroom, and buried herself under a mound of bedding. Janine, knowing the signs her daughter exhibited after a tarnished relationship, said little in the way of familial teasing or consolation. She had never met George—thanks to his own foolishness—and felt more than a tinge of relief that Peri had removed him from her life as quickly as she did. If he couldn’t bother to meet her own daughter’s parents, he wasn’t worth being attached to anyhow.

She left a tray of dinner by her door.

And the following morning she swapped it out for a tray of breakfast.

Peri decided to forgo making lunch for herself out of equal parts spite and apathy. Any time she felt pissed off to the point of screaming, her appetite went the way of her cries. Who needs food when the sheer adrenaline pumping through one’s veins was enough to keep them alert?

During lunch hour she sat alone. She made a conscious decision to rush out of class and barrel to the most secluded area she knew in the lunch area, avoiding both the crew and the boys. In this case, it was definitely more for their sake than for hers. The last thing she needed was to get suspended for knocking someone unconscious.

The cacophony of children chattering to one another echoed throughout her ears. They were loud. So loud to the point that she could barely think let alone have a conversation with someone beside her. She remembered back in her old school when the administrators would call for a silent lunch in the cafeteria. Her group would chitter like little squirrels under their breath because watching the staff’s faces turn beet red as they shouted for everyone to shut up at least five times every quarter hour was apparently the pinnacle of humour. But now, deep within her, she felt their plight. She wished the world would cease spinning to let her hop off.

With her head propped up on her hand, she stared off into the distance towards the gate that separated the students on lunch hour and those who were still in class. The school was large enough that there was no possible way each student could have lunch at the same time without an extra hundred lunch staff and a whole separate campus to seat them all.

She watched as the Doctor approached the gate from the depths of the school and was promptly let through without so much as a word exchanged (but, knowing him, he would have at least said ‘thank you’ or some silly comment about being a 'VIP'). Without his satchel strapped across his frame, he paraded past the swarms of teenagers who appeared severely underdressed compared to him, and made himself scarce as he entered the theatre hall. Peri lifted her head from her palm and reached for her bag. And then she didn’t. And then she saw Nate leave through the gates in the opposite direction after flashing a pass to the guardsman (who was just a teacher doing their rounds). Peri gulped and whispered a colourful adjective to herself.

She knew where George and his friends sat in conjunction to where she was sitting now. There was no way they could see her from where she was, but if she wished to cross over to make her way towards the theatre, she was exposed from all angles. Luckily, she remembered that George and David were always playing games on their handheld consoles. If she played her cards right, she could scoot by without them noticing.

Peri whipped her bag against her back and grasped her Saint Christopher like her life depended on it. With a heavy inhale, she dashed out into the light, swerving past the clumps of students who stood like a stochastic array of traffic cones in the middle of the path. With her heart pumping in her ears, she pulled open the thick doors leading into the theatre and didn’t exhale until she heard the _slam_ behind her.

The dim lighting blinded her and, for an instant, her heart fluttered again. She didn’t think to question whether or not the student actors were in rehearsal or if someone was auditioning for the part of Evan Hansen and she completely—yet unintentionally—ruined their chances. Her head screwed around. The stage was lit. There were people lounging about it. And...the Doctor was walking in from backstage belting something in Italian before taking a seat beside Mel and Flip.

“Never change, Doctor,” Peri said to herself as she minced up towards the stage.

The three thespians were eating lunch and, although it was far from quiet, the random bouts of singing and media references from the other students didn’t seem to bother her.

She lifted a stiff hand as she approached them, “Hi.”

They all stopped in their tracks and glared at her with a look of confusion, but then, in unison, their faces turned to that of pleasant surprise.

“Peri! Hey!” Flip exclaimed, “Come on up!”

She lifted herself onto the stage and completed the rhombus shape of their group, with the two girls sitting in lotus position on both sides of her and the Doctor at the other end. He and Mel greeted her with beaming countenances.

"What brings you here?" Mel asked.

“I dunno, I just felt like it,” Peri mumbled, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Only my aria!” the Doctor huffed.

Mel took a bite of her quinoa and curried chickpeas, whose aroma was so pungent that Peri was sure it would be embedded in her clothes for the rest of the day, “Thank goodness. He’s been singing ‘On With the Motley’ all week.”

Peri cocked her head, “‘On With the Motley?’”

“No, don’t—!”

 _“Veeesssstiii la giubbaaaa e la facciaaaa infarinaaaa~”_ he intoned with a rich tenor.

Peri covered her face with her hands and exploded with laughter. The Doctor stopped singing and glanced curiously at Flip and Mel who rolled their eyes and chuckled softly to themselves.

“I’m glad you three find it amusing to laugh at Canio’s misfortune,” he said, pulling out a small bag from his coat pocket.

A teardrop fell onto Peri’s blue jeans. Mel scratched the top of her curly, red hair and shifted her smile into a frown, “Peri? Are you alright?”

“Of course she’s _alright_ ,” the Doctor replied, popping a jelly baby or two into his mouth, “She just has a demented sense of humour.”

“No, Doctor, I think she’s actually crying.” Flip tucked her empty sandwich bag into her lunchbox and placed a gentle hand upon Peri’s arm, “Peri? What’s wrong?”

Peri, with her face still shrouded, shook her head. “I’m...I’m fine,” she sniffed, “Really.”

“No you’re not. Come on, tell us what’s wrong. We’re all friends here.”

Mel closed her Tupperware container, “Yeah, who would we be if we sat back and watched you cry?”

Peri sniffled and dabbed her eyes with the back of her blazer sleeve. Mel handed her a clean tissue from her bag and the sight of it only reopened the floodgates.

“Well?” Flip prodded with a whisper, “What’s eating you?”

“My...what used to be my boyfriend,” she choked. Peri despised talking when in the middle of a good cry. It was embarrassing how she’d choke and sputter over her own words even though she knew exactly what she wanted to say.

“He broke up with you?”

Peri shook her head, “I did…”

“Good for you!” Mel cheered, “He was probably a wretched person anyway. Someone as kindhearted as you only deserves the best.”

“I...I hate him!” Peri wailed, slamming her fist against her thigh, “I never want to see him again for the rest of my life!”

The Doctor frowned, “I hardly think that’s feasible considering you both have—”

Mel clutched him by the arm and he bit his tongue. Flip scooted closer to Peri and wrapped her tightly in her arms, “I understand. I’ve had my fair share of crappy men. All they ever wanna do is get in your knickers.”

A corner of Mel’s lips upturned, “Hey, at least you aren’t being held down by him anymore. You’re free to live your life as you want to.”

Peri swallowed her tears, “Yeah…”

Suddenly, the Doctor’s face dropped. He averted his gaze to the floor as though he was the subject of his friend's misfortune, “I’m...sorry, Peri. If I would’ve known, I would’ve given him a proper talking to.” Peri noticed the veins protruding from his fist, “How that vile creature sleeps at night knowing that he’s hurt you—”

“No,” she interrupted, “There was nothing you could do. Nothing...nothing I wanted you to do. That chapter of my life is over.” She dabbed her reddened cheeks and sniffed.

“That’s right, it is.” Flip sat herself straight, “Fuck him.”

Peri chuckled softly behind her hand, but her heart continued to be a pool of sorrow. Not only because of George, but because there was an incredible sense of regret over how she treated Mel and Flip. They were two kind, compassionate girls and yet she never bothered to talk to—or even approach—them since the party weeks ago. There was no reason why they had to console her over her break up. Heck, there was no reason why they had to _care_. And yet they did. She had to make up for lost time; that was the least she could do to show her appreciation. “Can we—can we change the topic…?” she said, forcing a twisted smile, “I don’t want to think about this anymore…”

“Sure, Peri," Mel said, patting the girl's hand.

The Doctor was still ruminating over his inaction; his ignorance towards his own friend’s predicament. His gaze was firmly fixed on some null point out in the distance which made his face as strong and impassioned as a Renaissance bust.

“Doctor?” Peri murmured.

His upper lip twitched to coincide with his flaring nostrils.

“ _Doctor_?” she repeated.

Mel tugged on his shoulder, “Doctor!”

“What!?” he boomed, breaking his focus and glowering at the two of them.

“It’s okay... _Really."_

"Okay? How can you possibly think what has happened to you is _okay?_ That feeble-minded imbecile broke your heart, leaving you to wallow in your own self-pity, and you say it's _okay?!_ "

Flip stifled a laugh, "You sound like you're about to beat him up."

"I should give him a good thrashing! It's what he deserves!"

"And risk suspension? To _your_ record?" Mel looked at him with a curious smirk, "I can see the headlines now."

"I wouldn't let him. Not only would it singlehandedly ruin his chance at being valedictorian," Peri reached over to grab the Doctor's hand. She gave it a firm squeeze and, like a stress ball, his face softened, "I'm done with George. Yeah, I cried over him but it's a part of the healing process. I won't even care about him in a few days."

The Doctor sighed, “Yes, you’re right. The chapter is over, just as you said.”

They all took a vow of silence for the next minute to break the disquietude. When sixty-one seconds passed, Peri cleared her throat and did her best to resume her natural perkiness, “So, what are you all rehearsing for?”

“We’ve got a play coming up,” Mel chirped, “ _Dick Whittington_.”

Peri tried not to laugh, “I’ve never heard of that. Is it like _Phantom of the Opera_?”

The other three snickered under their breath. “Far from it,” Flip responded, “It’s about this kid who has a talking cat and he falls in love with a girl...it’s weird.”

Peri licked her teeth and lifted her brow, “Oh. What parts do you all play? I’m guessing you, Flip, are ‘the girl’, Mel’s the cat, and the Doctor is...Dick?”

“Wrong,” the Doctor smiled, “ _I’m_ the cook.”

“The rest was correct though!” Mel gave a thumbs up, “You should come! Our opening night’s on Friday.”

“No,” the Doctor held up a finger, “As your instructor _du jure_ , I entreat you to come. No extra credit will be given, but it will certainly cheer you up.”

Peri pursed her lips coquettishly and tapped on her rosy cheek, “Hmmmm...I’ll have to think about it,” she intoned. “Oh!” she pulled her bookbag near to her and unzipped the main portion. The three others watched as she removed a red folder, slapped it on her lap, and began fingering through the pages. “Here you go,” she said, handing the Doctor the completed sheet of practice problems for the week, “I think you’ll find my answers to be quite satisfactory.”

###  **Wednesday — afternoon**

The melodic Skype tune bubbled up from Peri’s computer.

 _“Wait, I’m almost done with this chapter_ ,” she thought as she flipped to the next page in the fourth volume of Proust’s _In Search of Lost Time._

The tune cut itself off, but a second later it resumed from the beginning. With a groan, Peri shoved her bookmark between the pages and glanced over at her screen. White circles containing the three profile pictures belonging to Daphne, Imane, and Alex danced to the jingle. She hovered her mouse over the green ‘accept’ button and waited in hopes that the call would drop, but it seemed to go on forever. Finally, she submitted to her technological overlords and clicked to join the group chat. Her face appeared in the corner along with three other boxes on the monitor.

“Peri! Finally! We thought you were never going to pick up,” Daphne said.

“I was reading.”

“What book?” Imane asked.

Peri lifted up her hefty, hardback edition of _Sodom and Gomorrah._

“Marcel Proust? Never heard of him,” Alex squinted.

 _“What a surprise,”_ Peri thought, “Yeah, he’s not too popular around here.”

“Were you at school today?” Daphne asked.

“Umm...no,” Peri lied, “Why, did anything happen?”

“No, but it was a shock not to see you there.”

“Sorry.”

Imane leaned back in her seat and sipped on a bottle of water, “How are you and George?”

“We broke up,” Peri responded without a hint of care.

Daphne shielded her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry,” she and Alex said in unison. 

“It’s fine. I'm glad I finally worked up the courage to kick him to the curb.”

"Good for you," Imane smirked, “It’s about time you saw reality. Now you can focus on more important things.”

“Like what?” Peri asked. She knew what ‘more important things’ meant to _her_ , but these girls were on another plane.

“The party on Friday. You can flirt _properly_ without being afraid of what George might think.”

“Mm, yeah,” she said dryly.

“You _are_ still going?” Daphne leaned forward so her face was the only thing within the confines of her box.

The answer was a fat, unequivocal ‘NO’. Meeting Mel, Flip, and the Doctor earlier that day had reset her goals in life. They were arguably bigger ‘losers’ than she, Imane, Alex, and Daphne, but they were happier without a shadow of a doubt. While the rest of them were breaking their souls for a few morsels of popularity within a society that scrambled and diffused itself every year, the motley crew was content to be themselves and enjoy life as it was.

Peri flipped her hair, “Yeah, I’ll be there, obvi.”

Daphne fell back in her chair, “Great,” she shrieked, “I can’t wait to see Charles again!”

Imane lifted her glazed eyes to the ceiling, “We know.”

###  **Friday — evening**

“One ticket, please.”

The volunteer staffer ripped off a ticket from beneath the window and, along with a program, exchanged them for a handful of dollars, “Here you are, miss. Enjoy the show.”

“Thanks!”

Peri made her way through the lobby and into the theatre. It was already crowded with people—parents, children, teens, and adult siblings—who were all chatting to one another. She debated about sitting in front to ensure that her friends noticed her arrival for their big night, but then she wondered if they would even be paying attention to the facial features of the audience. Heck, could they even _see_ the facial features?

She decided on placing herself in the most comfortable seats in the house: not the _very_ back row, but close to it. And the end seat. This allowed her free access to run out of the theatre in case the secondhand embarrassment became too overwhelming.

As the theatre continued filling with patrons, Peri stole a glance at her phone. No messages.

 _“That’s a shock,_ ” she chuckled, “ _Daphne must be holding them up.”_

The house lights dimmed and she shoved her device into her purse, making sure to decrease the volume to a whisper. She didn’t want to be _that_ guy.

When the curtains rose, it revealed a backdrop that looked like it was stripped straight out of a storybook. It was a painting of an ‘olde towne’ complete with a church and an array of tiny red-roofed buildings with rivaling steeples. In capital script was the word ‘LONDON’ on a banner carried by two angels who looked more like washerwomen with wings. Richard Whittington—better known as Rick or preferably Dick—leaped into centre stage and tore down the fourth wall.

“I’ve done it; I’ve left Gloucestershire! A voice told me to ‘seek thy fortune, get thee to London, pack lots of pants’ so I did! Has anyone seen my cat, Chris?”

Mel—donning a white fluffy tail that reached down to her ankles, fluffy ears, and masculine 16th century garb—strutted out and introduced herself to the audience with all the sass one would expect a cat to have. Peri chuckled; she made an adorable kitty! Why, look at those little whiskers!

Dick and Chris began to explain how they were due to reach London soon when a fellow wearing an outfit he stole from Mötley Crüe’s tour bus skittered into view. He introduced himself as King Rat, the king of all rats, and told a lamentable story about why he detested felines of all kinds. Peri squinted. The outfit he was wearing looked strangely familiar: the villainous costume, the rat ears, the tall crown…

Her mouth hung agape. _Now_ she finally understood what the Doctor’s profile picture was supposed to be. It wasn’t his eldritch alter ego _Rattus rex_ , but him in another one of his roles!

 _“Gosh, the Doctor sure is a busy guy,”_ she thought. Tutoring, acting, a member of the robotics team, and whatever else he had on the agenda...she couldn’t fathom how he managed to fit them all in. Doing _one_ of those on top of the workload she already had would be enough to have her pulling her hair out.

She continued to sit back and laugh at the horribly corny jokes and the intentionally campy attire and mannerisms they all adopted. If the play was already this odd ten minutes in, what did that mean for the rest of the show! And...how would the Doctor ham it up even more than it already was?

After meeting the Good Fairy who convinced Dick to continue on with his trek and Fitzwarren the merchant, they were met by a queer, busty woman. She wore a yellow, petticoated pinafore with red baubles covering the arms and a gaudy motif of a wine bottle and salt and pepper shakers on the torso. To complete the look was a white and blue apron that was worn more like a skirt than something to keep the flour out of one’s clothes. Her hair was the colour of Pippi Longstocking’s and atop it was a white chef’s...bonnet. In summary: it was the kind of fashion disaster only the Doctor would find aesthetically pleasing. Maybe she was his mother!

She skipped along the stage and introduced herself as Sally, a cook who prepares exotic dishes to sell in the merchant’s shop. But her pitchy voice sounded rather...familiar.

Peri sat on the edge of her seat and stuck out her neck. A grimace was plastered upon her face. She wished she treated this as a metal concert where she was eager to be in front, five inches away from the performers, because there was no way that _Sally_ was who she thought she...he?...was.

Nope. She refused to believe it.

Sally the Cook left the stage and Mel the Cat and Dick Whittington returned. Dick exalted about finally reaching London and now his eyes were set on the crowd of women loitering around a ‘ye olde flower shoppe’. One in particular was wearing a bright teal gown with gold accents which made her stand out among the others who were dressed in dark greens and purples.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she, Chris?” Dick swooned.

“I guess, if you like that sort of thing,” Chris shrugged.

In true theatre splendour, Alice (played by Flip) locked eyes with Dick for a millisecond and immediately the two fell in love. A song was sung between them confessing their desire and thus the story of Dick Whittington began to fall into place.

After meeting an idler or two, the cook reappeared with a humongous moss-coloured frog perched on a silver tray like a spit-roasted pig at a Hawaiian buffet. In its mouth was a banana, and the cook explained that this was one of her newest recipes. Peri laughed and laughed. She knew exactly who was playing this character and there was no point in believing otherwise (not to mention that the Doctor _did_ tell her who he was…). Just like how Myrna Kendal’s roles were a perfect fit for her, the Doctor was made to play Sally the Cook. She loved the Rat King, too, but there was no beating the exuberant, gauche personality of Sally.

The play continued on in its campiness, but it was dialed up to eleven when they were all aboard the boat led by an amateur, incompetent captain who had never stepped foot upon a deck before that day. He didn’t even know what the ship was called! And because of his floundering qualifications, the ship wrecked against the shores of an island called Tonga. Everyone was spared except for Sally, whose clothes were ripped to shreds!

In the end, everyone found themselves married (though not to each other!) except for the cat and King Rat. But they both were satisfied with their lives at the end—one with a full belly and the other with a full heart.

As they all sang the finale, Peri was still attempting to wrap her head around the oddity that she had witnessed. A _Phantom of the Opera_ rendition this was not! But as unique as the piece was, it was a million times more intriguing than going to another booze-filled party full of hormonal teens. If it wasn’t for the curtain drop and the house lights rising, she wouldn’t have remembered that that party even existed.

She switched on her phone. There was a barrage of messages in the group chat asking where she was, why wasn’t she there, and if she decided not to come. Peri prepared herself to type a response documenting the performance she had seen and how it was better than ‘their lame party’, but instead she tossed her device back in her bag and followed the crowd of people back into the courtyard.

As she waited for her friends to come down to earth, she felt compelled to strut over to each and every person waiting outside with her and brag like a snobby parent that ‘those were her friends performing tonight’. But then she remembered that this was high school. Everyone in attendance was most likely a friend or a relative of those on stage.

_“Well, if any of them keep this up, I’ll be on Broadway flaunting my celebrity ties.”_

The Doctor, Flip, and Mel all exited together. Peri ran over and showered them in accolades that made them flush with rosy hue and, together, they showed her in gratitude.

“To think that I was originally going to be at a party tonight,” she chuffed, “Watching the Doctor waddle around as a busty old woman is more entertaining than anything the Pepsi Maxxers could do!”

“I second that!” Flip said.

“Yes, I completely agree,” the Doctor added with his falsetto.

Peri was taken aback, “You know who the Pepsi Maxxers are?”

He continued with the same pitchy voice, “I know it’s a drink and that’s as far as I wish to know about it.”

“Figures!” Mel chortled.

They shot the breeze as they walked through the parking lot and to Flip’s car that was parked in the middle section. After unlocking her vehicle with a press of a button, she turned to Peri, “How are you getting home, girlie?” 

“I’m taking the bus,” she said, flashing her plastic bus pass.

“Flip can drive you home,” Mel insinuated.

Peri shoved her card back into her jean pocket, “Really? Thanks!”

“Where are you going, Doctor?” Flip said, noting how he was scooting into the back seat instead of his typical shotgun.

“Oh, I thought I’d sit beside Peri for this trip,” he opened the car door, “If it’s okay with you, Mel.”

Mel and Flip smirked at one another from opposite sides of the vehicle. “Knock yourself out, Doctor.”

With them all situated inside, Flip slipped her key into the ignition and turned the dial. Once they were safely out of the lot, the Doctor smiled at Peri and asked if she had any plans scheduled for tomorrow.

“No,” she replied, “I was actually going to spend the day watching bad chick flicks.”

The Doctor waved his hand, “Nevermind that; the three of us were planning to spend a pleasant day out on the town tomorrow morning.”

“The key word being ‘were’,” Mel interjected, “We haven’t decided on a place yet.”

“What were your suggestions?” Peri asked. 

“I suggested we visit the yoga group at the park—”

“To get us all sweaty and exhausted before our performance,” Flip laughed.

“Flip suggested we see a cheesy horror matinee—”

“Hey! Isn’t that basically the same thing that Peri was going to do anyway? I think I’ve won this battle.”

“And the Doctor—”

“I suggested the botanical gardens!”

Mel flipped around in her seat, “Oh, no you didn’t! You were hell bent on taking us fishing!”

“Well I’ve changed my mind!” he declared, sticking his nose in the air.

Mel scrunched up her face and snapped her wrist in incredulity before sitting back in her seat, “You know, I think Peri should choose for us.”

Peri scratched her head, “Uhhhh...all the choices were pretty good.”

“But mine was the best,” the Doctor asserted.

“But,” she continued, ignoring his comment, “I know a spot that’s perfect for all of us. I hope you guys like board games!”


	6. Chapter 6

###  **Monday — morning**

“So, when are we going to talk about Charles and Chloe?” Imane prodded. Despite the group gaining enough status overnight to have their own table in the cafeteria during lunch, the silence around their table was awkward and thick. Daphne had been stirring her soup meticulously for the past five minutes, ruminating over the composition of green beans to the kidney varieties. Alex was slurping down her yogurt and licking the back of the spoon suggestively to get a rouse out of either Imane or Peri, but both of them made a silent pact to not take the bait.

Imane drummed on the table with the tips of her stiletto nails, “ _Hello?_ You can’t live in denial forever.”

Daphne shrugged, “Everyone was kissing everyone at that party. It’s totally normal.”

“Oh yeah? Like who?”

“Uh, Hayden kissed Anna, the freshman. Corey also kissed Gretchen, who’s also a first year.”

“I hooked up with a sophomore—Zaria!” Alex beamed.

“I wonder who I would’ve been paired with,” Peri deadpanned, before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

The other three girls directed their focus towards her with hardened expressions. But before any of them could explain the capricious change in attitude, Daphne giggled, “I think we all know!”

Peri’s heart panged with virulence. This was one topic she would rather not discuss again. “You know I broke up with him last week.”

Imane crossed her arms, “And I'm glad you saw that he’s a total player...like Charles.”

Daphne set her spoon handle carefully atop of the paper bowl. “Charles is _not_ a player,” she said through a quivering smile.

“Oh really? Then why does he give out jerseys to the girls he’s had sex with?”

Daphne bit her lip and glanced down at her shirt. Peri exhaled a small sigh of gratitude towards the topic being switched to Charles for the hundredth time. As terrible as it sounded, it was better to listen to someone else’s problems than to spend the day talking about her own. Even worse, she figured Charles was a player from the moment she was first privy to him—his gaze alone oozed a disgusting amount of arrogance and contempt for those around him. It was too bad Peri's radar couldn't detect the same hints in George until it was too late.

“You know what?” Imane stood and grabbed Daphne’s arm, pulling her up to her height. “Look around.”

Peri and Alex followed suit. The four surveyed the room bustling with popular cliques, wannabes, and ‘losers’ who bought their food before making themselves scarce. An administrator stood at the front with a microphone under his arm and a phone in his hand, his eyes fixed on the screen like any other kid left to their own devices.

“See that girl?” Imane held her pointer finger close to her chest to make her presentation as furtive as possible. Despite her precaution, there was only one girl in that direction wearing a blue shirt with a rose in the corner—the same shirt Daphne was wearing with her head held high.

“She fucked Charles," Imane asserted. "Now look over here,” Imane pointed behind her to another girl in the same shirt, “She did too. And,” Imane directed them all to look out the window beside them, where a girl was joking around by the bus ramp, “Another one.”

Daphne shook her head to rid herself of the inevitable truth. “But they could’ve gotten this shirt anywhere?” she mumbled, staring out at the last girl who was now dancing rather crudely in front of her friend group.

Imane sucked air through her teeth and rolled her eyes, “Don’t be a fool—you’re walking around like a living trophy. Forget Charles and get your dignity back.”

Daphne’s head dropped. She slumped back to their table and fell into her seat. With her head propped up against her hand, she resumed her soup stirring. The others returned to their seats as well, and, with a sniff, Daphne threw the spoon onto the counter with a wide fling. Soup sprayed in Imane’s direction and she jolted backwards out of her seat,

“HEY!”

“Why are you jumping on me about dignity?” Daphne spat, “What about Peri!”

Imane, who was busy scrutinizing her clothes for any traces of vegetable broth or bean debris, didn't answer. Instead, Peri, who was stuffing her sandwich bag into her lunchbox, lifted her head from her bubble like a meerkat, “What? What did I do?”

Daphne whipped her head to the side, her eyes blazing with enough passion to set an ant aflame, “I know why you didn’t bother to show up to the party on Friday.”

Alex frowned and set her spoon into her yogurt container, shoving it away, “Yeah, what was up with that?”

“I was busy, sorry. I didn’t have time to message you guys,” Peri said. All morning she had been thinking about what kind of excuse to present to them; being honest yet subtle seemed to be the best approach. But with the vitriol that was spewing from Daphne’s soul, it seemed like she had knowledge about something that Peri hadn’t divulged. Was attending one offbeat performance really worth the anger?

Alex snickered.

Peri scrunched her face, “What?”

Imane sat back down and leaned forward like a police interrogator, her eyes burrowing into both Peri’s and Daphne’s, “Yes, busy with _what?_ Every party counts towards our goal; you can’t just skip them whenever you want.”

Peri laughed nervously, "Uh, I don’t know what you all are talking about. Other plans cropped up so I couldn’t go.”

Daphne swooped her hair out of her face and smiled with the slickness of a fox, “Peri’s dating Claudius. That’s why she was so keen on dumping George.”

An unsightly grimace spread across Peri's face, "Huh!? Who told you that!?”

“So it’s true?” Imane monotoned.

“No! I’m not dating anyone! Learn how to fact check your sources!”

“I also heard that you two…” Daphne contorted her mouth into a variety of shapes to skirt around saying anything explicit, “You know…”

Alex laughed, “Peri and Claude sittin’ in a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First comes love then—””

“Okay, thanks!” Peri clapped her hands against her ears until Alex finished her rhyme. “But it’s not even true! I’ve never ‘done anything’ with him in my life!”

“It’s okay, Peri. Sometimes the urge is too strong,” Alex snorted. “A wise choice for your first time.”

“It’s all over social media,” Daphne said. “Everyone will know sooner or later.”

Imane shook her head and rose to her feet, “Shame. I knew we should’ve gotten rid of you weeks ago.”

Peri’s head darted around the table with her eyes narrowed and her lips parted. None of this made sense. Why would someone spread a rumor about two people who were supposedly ‘losers’? The gossip programmes on television didn’t air news stories about two random country bumpkins who were flirting around the trailer park, so why spread false accusations about what she and the Doctor were up to?

Her mind spun like a vortex in a _Twilight Zone_ episode; her heart beat with the fury of the _Jaws_ signature theme. But this wasn’t scripted entertainment that was billed under the ‘fiction’ header—this was her _life._ And with no proper source to go off of...who was she supposed to trust?

###  **Monday — afternoon**

Back in physics tutoring, Peri’s teacher _de facto_ —Mr Andrews—informed her that, although he did not have another meeting that day, the Doctor was so smitten about last week’s session that he offered to tutor her for the remainder of the semester. Peri threw her bag onto the workbench and muttered a ‘fine’. Thinking about the duality between entropy and extropy was the last thing she cared about at the moment. What she wanted was to tell her instructor to bugger off for an hour so she could speak to the Doctor about what was really on her mind. There was always the possibility of discussing the matter after school, but she had a bus to catch!

The Doctor entered the room with a smile and wave. “Ready to begin?” he said, placing his satchel atop the podium and walking over to the whiteboard to clear it off from last class' lecture. Science whiteboards were always the dirtiest ones in school. Sometimes material from equations to diagrams would stay there for days without a proper cleaning because the instructors used the same guides for each class from day one of introducing a topic to the exam. By the time they decided it was time for a wipe, the marker had already melded in with the plastic coating, turning the whiteboard into a smokescreen that only got blurrier as time went on.

Peri slapped her folder onto the table, “Whatever.”

The Doctor and Mr Andrews, who ceased the clatter of his typing, exchanged glances.

“Peri, if you’re not in the mood you can forgo this lesson,” Mr Andrews said sweetly, “You two can reschedule for tomorrow or something.”

“No, it’s fine,” she said, averting her eyes to a side wall.

The Doctor furrowed his brow. “Are you alright?” he asked, grabbing a black marker from underneath the whiteboard and posting the cap.

“Oh, now you’re trying to play Superman, right? To make up for the George thing? Well it’s not gonna work.”

“Pardon me? It was only a simple question.”

“And all we had was a simple day out!”

The Doctor set his lips into a hard line and recapped the marker. “Excuse us a moment,” he said sharply in the direction of Mr Andrews. “Come, Peri.”

He led her outside and a few feet away from the door, where they both leaned sideways against the railing overlooking the centre courtyard of the school.

“Well? What’s bothering you?”

Peri glanced up at him then shook her head in incredulity. “ _What’s bothering me?_ You really have a lot of nerve.”

“I truly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Peri slapped her hand against the bannister. “Why did you go around telling everyone that we’re an item!?” She wished she could give a good, proper scream, but with classes still in session, the most she could muster without drawing attention was a forceful whisper.

“An item?” He chuckled, “Why would I identify as an inanimate object?”

Peri groaned, “No! An _item_ — _dating_!”

“Radiometric or carbon?”

Peri’s nostrils flared. The only difference between his intelligence and everyone else’s was that his was constructed from encyclopedias while the other students’ were formed from inter-personal experiences. The most widespread slang terms and pop culture references that even a ninny like George would understand were completely lost on the Doctor. Everything had to be spelled out in the most literal, explicit way possible.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the railing, “Why did you tell everyone that _we_ were dating!? And that we had sex!?”

The Doctor tripped backwards with a hand placed on his chest to clutch the invisible pearls, “Good heavens. Now why would I spread such a rumour?”

“You tell me! Just because we hung out for a couple of hours doesn’t give you the right to ruin my life! It’s all over social media and soon enough the whole school will know!”

The Doctor looked down at his friend whose face was beet red and teeth gritted. He parted his lips to speak but,

“Now my entire social life is at risk because of you! My friends think I’m an idiot because I didn’t listen to them the first time. And guess what? I agree with them for once!”

The Doctor held up his hands in a meagre attempt at defusing the situation, “Peri, you must calm down. Why are you allowing one false rumour to control your life?”

“Because it's _you_ , this rumour is about, Doctor. It’s bad enough that it’s an attack on my morals, but to say that I did it with _YOU?_ I’m going to be branded a loser for the rest of my high school career! And that’s the last thing I freaking want! Everything I’m working hard to achieve, you’ve just pissed on for no reason! My life is over!”

The Doctor blinked, “What are you saying…?”

“If you can’t figure it out, then you’re stupider than you think,” Peri hissed, “You may get a kick out of being the biggest freak show in school, but I don’t. Don’t use me to boost your nonexistent social status.”

“You can’t seriously believe that _I_ started this!”

Peri narrowed her eyes and glowered upon the man she thought was her best friend. How puny he looked now, like a wounded animal after they've been caught tearing up the furniture. Maybe she should have taken up her mom's offer of becoming a nun. Janine was joking then, as they gazed at the awesomeness of the Notre Dame, but now Peri was dead serious in considering the offer again.

The Doctor's prepossessing face was clouded with a veil of grief, and all Peri could do was look at him. At those desperate eyes. He stepped towards her and, as if on cue, she minced a step back.

"I should've known," she said, shaking her head with contempt. “You’re just like the rest of them.”

###  **Wednesday — evening**

By Wednesday, the rumour had spread around campus like wildfire. Peri couldn’t walk five feet without someone sneering. Every snicker, every sound of laughter felt like it was beamed right into her brain and being amplified louder than her own thoughts. Her eyes vacillated between darting in every direction to be aware of her vicious surroundings, to staring directly at the gum-ridden ground in an attempt to efface herself in plain sight. In class, students she never talked to a day in her life would attempt to make conversation asking about various details regarding ‘the deed’. It was them who were the true freaks, but of course no one wished to view it from that perspective.

That evening, after a raucous bus ride that even music couldn’t drown out, Peri fell like a log onto her bed. After the incident with George and now the Doctor, her heart couldn’t take any more sudden bursts of adrenaline. She felt completely stolid; an empty soul inside a hollow vessel. No amount of books, research, films, or music could bring any emotion—any colour—into her world. With her hair in disarray, she stared out at her wardrobe and counted her clothes. How many shirts, how many trousers, how many skirts...and when the tally was made, she counted how many black clothes, how many striped clothes...Banal. She never realised how banal life was. What was the point of living when everyone dies in the end? What was the point of having dreams when they could be crushed by the weight of a tiny hand? Or a million tiny hands?

What if her mother found out? And with her track record, how could she possibly clear her name? Janine would never believe her. She’d be barred from speaking to another man for the rest of her life—shipped out to become a nun in a convent somewhere in Switzerland...which was sounding more and more tantalising by the minute. All men ever did was hurt her. All people ever did was hurt each other.

From her recumbent position, Peri booted up her Skype and double clicked on Nate’s profile picture. As much as the topic made her stomach turn, her innate sense of curiosity was pinging like a beachcomber’s metal detector. She had to understand who did this and why.

“Oh...hi,” Nate said.

“Hi.”

“Um...this is weird.”

Peri sat up in front of the camera, “Why?”

“Because...it’s weird looking at you knowing what you’ve done.”

Her face dropped, “You act like I’ve committed a crime.”

“Close enough,” he mumbled.

“So you think it’s true?”

“Is it not?”

Peri gave a sorrowful shake of her head, “No. I hung out with him but nothing happened. I didn’t even go to his house—we went to a cafe.”

Nate rubbed his eyes and shrugged, “I dunno what to tell you.”

Peri sighed and fiddled with her nail, “How’s George?”

“He’s fine.”

“Does he still—”

“He doesn’t talk about you, Peri. I don’t even know what he thinks about your...situation.”

“Oh,” she nibbled her lip, “How are you?”

“No, how are _you_?”

“I feel like I have less— _fewer_ —friends now than I had before, if that’s even possible.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“Crawl into a hole and die?”

###  **Thursday — morning**

_“How long do you think it’ll be before he talks to me again?_ ” Peri texted to Alexia as she sat alone in her favourite secluded spot. The wee hours of morning before class was scheduled to begin was always the most peaceful time to be at school. When the sun was poking out from beyond the horizon, the dawn blanketed the land with a serene coat of wistfulness that couldn’t be had at any other time during the day. There were no fights to be heard, no foot traffic from students hustling to their next course, and no random announcements blasting through the intercom. It was unadulterated peace. In her solitary world, it didn’t feel like anyone else existed.

_“No idea. Hold on, I’ve just arrived. Where r u?”_

Peri texted Alex her location and within a minute she arrived with her hair dyed with a fresh coat of colour—a pastel green. She skipped over to make herself comfortable beside Peri.

“I’m not a prude, you know,” Alex smiled. “If it is true, just own up to it.”

Peri glared at her askew, “It’s _not_ true, Alex. I wish you and everyone else would just stop. If you think I’m hiding something then why are you even here.”

“I believe you. I just don’t think it’s a big deal if it _was_ true.”

Peri groaned, “Don’t start with your weird kinks again.”

To Peri's amusement, Alex pursed her lips and mimed zipping them shut and throwing away the key.

“I just feel like I’ve ruined everything: the crew, my chance at being popular, my friendship…”

“I’m sure the Doctor will come around again. He can’t stay mad at you forever.”

“I don’t think he’s mad so much as disappointed,” Peri sighed. “I feel like a terrible person.”

“But you still don’t know if he _didn’t_ do it. Maybe your feelings are justified.”

“I guess.”

Alex pulled out her iPod that was wrapped with her earphone wires, “You know what always cheers me up?”

Peri looked at her with blunted intrigue.

“If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone,” she chuckled. “No, I mean it. Otherwise I’ll be lamer than lame.”

“Can’t be any worse than what happened with me,” Peri said.

"True."

Alex scrolled through her playlists then handed Peri one half of her earphone, sticking the other end in her own ear. She pressed play and a familiar drumbeat hit against their memories followed by a catchy guitar riff.

 _“Oh yeahh!”_ sang a female vocalist who hadn’t yet hit pubescent age.

 _“_ You get the limo out front, oooh…” Alex sang softly. Peri watched her with a sense of humorous bewilderment. Of course she recognised the song—what Disney kid didn’t?—but to hear someone in high school singing the words with utter seriousness was something to behold. “Hottest styles, every shoe, every colour; when you're famous it can be kinda fun; it's really you, but no one ever discovers…”

“Hannah Montana? Cool.”

Alex and Peri yanked out their earpieces and pivoted backwards. Alexander was standing over them with his bookbag slung over one shoulder and a disgusting smirk plastered on the left side of his face.

“Oh snap, are you a fan too?” Alexia gasped.

“My little sister was when she was, like, five,” he snorted.

“Pshh, I still bop to her! They’re timeless classics: ‘Nobody’s Perfect’, ‘The Climb’...”

“Okay…anyway,” He turned to Peri, “What’s up?”

Peri’s face was stoic, “What do you want, Alex?”

“I’m feeling a bit hurt,” he frowned.

Alexia tugged for him to sit beside them but his feet remained firm on the ground, “Why? Don’t be sad, name buddy.”

Alexander shook her off and stood closer to Peri. “Because,” he faked a whimper, “You can go home and fuck Ronald McDonald’s gay brother but you won’t give me the same loving. What’s up with that?”

“Fuck off, Alex!” Peri snapped, without giving it a second thought.

“Hey, since you’re spread eagle now it was only fair that I ask! I just hope I’m not too far back in line!”

Peri leaped to her feet and attempted to push him away but he dodged, “Why don’t you go fuck Charles if you’re that horny!?”

“Geez. And to think that you’d be telling jokes on a unicycle by now. Maybe after a few more goes—”

With cortisol pumping through her veins, Peri attempted to shove him again, and this time she hit the bullseye. Alexander stumbled back but Peri was hot on his tail. She started unleashing a barrage of hits on him, but these were not as successful.

Alexander, whose dodging only consisted of dance steps weaving to and fro, pretended to make groans and grunts of pain to get a rouse out of the girl who was screaming things that even she didn't understand.

Alexia threw her iPod down onto her bag and jumped after Peri, pulling the fighter back by wrapping her arms tightly around her torso. Peri continued to claw at the air and kick her feet, but Alexia’s heftier frame made it difficult for her to escape.

“Leave me alone, you dick! You don’t know anything about me or anything I’ve done!”

Alexia kept a steady stream of sibilants going in Peri’s ears, but she showed no sign of stopping. Alexander cackled to himself and winked, “Bye, Peri. You’ve got my number—just send me the time and date.”

Even when he was out of view, Alexia kept hold of her friend. Peri's chest rose and fell deeply; her breath loud and shallow. Her nails gripped against Alexia’s acid-wash jeans, but soon her hand fell, hitting against the metal bench.

“You alright now?” Alexia asked.

“I hate him!"

“I know.”

There was a few moments of silence between them until Peri cleared her throat,

“...Thanks...for holding me back," she said under her breath.

“‘Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.'"

Peri sat up and brushed herself off. Her fingers combed her hair flat and she rubbed her nose after a sniff.

“Why are people so cruel?”

Alex reached for her iPod, “No idea...Want to listen to some more to get your mind off of it?”

Peri nodded and grabbed her end of the earphones when both of their phones chimed.

_“You are all summoned tomorrow afternoon for a meeting about our party. Your presence is required.”_

The two girls glanced at each other and grinned.

###  **Friday — afternoon**

The meeting was held in one of the outdoor stairwells in the back of the school. It would have been more appropriate to have it held in a classroom, but because they weren’t a school club, no teacher would allow them to loiter about in their room for an indeterminate length of time. With Peri, Imane, and Alex situated on varying steps, Daphne stood on the ground looking up at them all like a coach addressing his team in the stands.

“Let me get straight to the point,” she said, “As we all know, there is a rumour of varying credibility going around about Peri and Claude—”

“Daphne,” Imane interrupted.

“—And I’ve looked into it. Everyone knows about this rumour and it spread around the school faster than the time Nicole Walker made out with Annika Conner’s boyfriend last year. It doesn’t motivate anyone to come to the party that I’ve—we’ve—been organising for months.”

The three other girls listened intently to Daphne with blank expressions.

“And I find it unfair that everything is questioned because Peri couldn’t control her sex drive.”

Peri rolled her eyes. After a week of the rumour’s inception, she no longer cared about correcting people a hundred times a day. _“Let them believe what they want,”_ she thought.

“Daphne,” Imane said, holding up a finger, “Are you calling Peri a slut just like that? It’s funny, because you call yourself a feminist and yet you were the first one to judge for something that may or may not have happened.”

“That’s...not exactly what I meant. Claudius also behaved like a slut.”

“No one knows who started the rumour,” Peri asserted, loud enough for them all to hear.

“But it’s not my fauly if everyone thinks it was Peri’s idea.”

“Claudius doesn’t have that reputation because his friends don’t insult him!” Imane shouted.

Daphne raised a brow, “Does he even have friends to insult him?”

“Actually, he does,” Peri corrected. Her voice sliced through the aspersion with the sharpness of a knife.

“All I’m saying is stop insulting other girls. Especially when you don’t have the whole truth,” Imane continued.

“And you need to stop talking so I can finish!” Daphne shouted back, “It’s not the only reason why we need to be careful about Peri. She apparently is hanging out with other losers, too. She was spotted with some Merida lookalike in the computer lab—”

“Merida?” Alex asked.

“You know. _Brave?_ The Disney film? Anyway, if anyone’s counting, that makes at least three losers that Peri had befriended so far. I personally don’t know why she bothers to stay in the crew because she obviously has other plans for herself.”

Imane looked down at Peri, “Is that true?”

“So what? You can’t control who I make friends with!”

“True,” Daphne replied, “So why don’t you take your nerdy friends and go play around at an anime convention or something and leave the rest of us to tend to more adult matters?”

“Maybe she actually _enjoys_ their company?” Imane protested, “They might be cool people.”

“You were the one who wanted her to dump Claudius in the first place!”

“Yeah, but I’ve been thinking and maybe it’s not too big of a deal.”

“So _you’d_ go hanging around with him then?”

“No, but it doesn’t matter! If she wants to hang out with him then who cares!”

“You’re brainwashed,” Daphne stomped her foot upon one of the steps and leaned into the group. Her voice became low and firm, “All of you need to pick a side because there’s no way I’m being a part of a crew that thinks it's okay to have clown sex and start fights at parties.”

Imane strapped on her knapsack and descended the steps with her hands tucked into her coat pockets. When she got to the bottom level, she glowered at Daphne who stared back with an unwavering stiffness in her upper lip. "Listen,” she snarled, “I threw water in Ingrid’s face because she called you a slut. Why? Because you were grinding on Charles to make him hard. I have a tendency to push myself into situations where I don’t belong in order to defend others. But, you're right, maybe I should have sat that one out.”

Imane shoved her way out of sight. Peri sat quietly with her hands folded between her legs and Alex climbed down a few steps to offer her a small hug. Daphne stood in place, her eyes lowered to the ground.

###  **Friday — night**

It was the final performance of _Dick Whittington_ by Charm City High School’s theatre group. Peri bought her ticket and ensured to sit smack in front as she watched Mel, Flip, and the Doctor sing and cut a caper around the stage in their costumes and makeup. Peri found herself appreciating her friend’s talents more the second time around—there was no way she could memorise those lines _and_ the choreography that went along with it.

Although, she wondered if ‘friends’ was an accurate descriptor for them. After her row with the Doctor, Peri was sure that he told Mel and Flip about what happened. They were the type to take the motto ‘all for one and one for all’ to heart. If the Doctor shunned her, they all would.

When the curtains fell for the final time on the island of Tonga, Peri waited patiently by the backstage exit just as she did before. With her back against the wall and her foot kicked up, she rehearsed her apology that she had spent the intervening days contemplating over.

“I know! It was the craziest thing!” Flip exclaimed as she stepped out from the threshold. The presence of a young girl with dark, medium-length hair standing right next to the door drew her attention and with a quick ‘gotta go’ she ended the call. “Peri?” she said, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, hi, Flip...I uh...I just wanted to talk to the Doctor." She wrung her hands dry behind her back.

“Um,” Flip clicked her teeth, “I don’t think he’d want to see you.”

Peri kicked her foot against the pavement, “I know. That’s why I came to apologise...not just to him but to you and Mel, too.”

“I dunno...I kinda don’t want to start a scene.”

“ _Please_ , Flip? I—I feel terrible about how I spoke to him. I’m sure it wasn’t his fault...I...I was just…”

“I understand.”

Peri nibbled on the side of her lip, “So...can I see him? Just this once, at least?”

Flip checked the time, “They should be out any minute.” She sauntered back indoors leaving Peri to wallow by the roadside. She felt a warmth overtaking her all of a sudden and fanned herself with her hand.

After a few false alarms, the Doctor, Mel, and Flip stepped outside. Mel, afraid about what could transpire, beckoned them all to a grassy area on the side of the building a few feet away where they were out of the public eye.

Peri dug the toe of her trainer into the dirt and the Doctor, watching her, sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“What was it you wanted to tell us, Peri?” Flip said solemnly.

“I—” she gulped, “I’m sorry. For being a jerk. I didn’t mean what I said to you, Doctor and—and I didn’t mean to insult any of you guys...You’re all cooler than any of those popular kids...it’s them who are the losers...”

“I couldn’t care less about who is or isn’t in a particular social caste,” the Doctor replied. His voice was as strong as ever, but had an underlying hint of dejection, “I just can’t believe you thought I’d purposefully try to hurt you.”

Peri fidgeted with her hands, “I know…I—I didn’t know who else to blame. I should’ve known that you’d be the last person to send something like that…”

“It goes completely against my character! There is nothing I could possibly hope to gain from slandering both our names in the interest of a few measly crumbs of _'popularity'_."

“That's true...”

"Ergo, if I were a betting man, I'd wager it was a member of this 'crew' of yours, as you call it, who bestowed this libel upon the student body."

“If it’s any consolation...the crew broke up...so…”

“I will never understand my peers." The Doctor began to pace side to side the length of grass in front of Peri. All the while his hand conducted to the beat of his words, “How they are willing to sacrifice their truth in the name of high school popularity—a mere blip in the entirety of one’s average expected lifespan. Is it worth it, I ask you? Is it worth destroying a friendship that could last forever to appeal to a group of philistines whose names will be all but forgotten once you walk across the stage? Is it worth destroying your sanity, your values, your passions to conform to those who sneer at anything that doesn’t fit into their myopic bubble?”

“No...but I realise that now, Doctor…,” she sniffed.

He stopped in front of her, “Do you? Are you sure? Because your behaviour over the course of this semester has shown otherwise.”

Peri wrapped her arms around herself and looked up at Claudius, “What do you mean…?”

His voice softened, “I may not spend my waking hours scouring the school’s social media groups, but I do try to keep an ear open in class at all times. I hear, in vivid detail, what the others say about you...but I know they can’t possibly be referring to the same Peri whose company I’ve come to enjoy.”

Peri swallowed a thick wad of saliva as blood rushed to her cheeks. She wondered what these ‘vivid details’ were, how much did he know about her tragic escapades with Imane, Daphne, and Alex? She wondered, and yet she didn’t want to know. She preferred not to know. It was embarrassing enough to live through it; she didn’t need reminders. Especially not from him.

“I just wanted friends...to be loved again…”

“ _Peri_ …” he mewed.

She covered her face with her hands. “I’m such an idiot…!” she wept. Mel and Flip rushed over to console her in gentle hugs and soft whispers about how she’s not an idiot; only a disillusioned child. Peri wiped her eyes with her hand and sobbed.

The Doctor lifted his foot to join the group, but slowly set it back down against the plush, green grass. “I feel as though I don’t know who you are,” he continued. “And yet, I wonder if you even know yourself.”

“I—I do…”

“We act according to what we believe, Peri." He turned to face the parking lot, “Call me when you’ve made sense of it all.”

With tears clouding her vision, Peri watched as the Doctor walked away with his head held high and his coat gently flapping in the breeze. He didn’t stop once he reached Flip’s car; he went straight towards the gate that separated their school from the real world. And when he reached the gate he continued walking until he disappeared into the blanket of night.


	7. Chapter 7

###  **Monday — morning**

Over the weekend, requests for friendship and notifications of tags on social media continued to flood Peri’s phone to the point where she was forced to turned off alerts entirely. But even with the problem half-mitigated, the chime of new messages continued to reverberate in her head throughout the day.

While it killed her to read the disparaging comments schoolmates would plaster on their feeds, it didn’t compare to the guilt she felt in her own conscience about the botched apology she gave to the Doctor. After he left her, Mel, and Flip that Friday night, the latter two offered to drive her home once again. She obliged, but, other than faint rhythms of Britney Spears over the radio, the car ride felt more like a shared taxi with strangers than with friends. Returning home wasn't any better—instead of forcing herself to sleep by way of tossing and turning all night, Peri stayed up until morning ruminating over the Doctor’s final words to her:

_"I feel as though I don’t know who you are. And yet, I wonder if you even know yourself.”_

She felt like the world's biggest loser. How foolish was she for allowing this issue to come between them? To make her life revolve around meaningless popularity points in a one-sided competition against those she didn’t like? No, she knew where her heart lied. The only issue was...how could she make him understand?

The following school day, Peri walked onto campus with her nose _somewhat_ stuck in the air. She passed through the swarms of early-risers giggling and muttering to one another as she walked by and made her way towards the library where at least it was considered improper to bother others with harsh tittering.

The library's entrance was located within a hallway. Through the glass windows, she could see the lights were on and staff members were inside, but when she gripped the door handle and pulled, it didn’t budge. She glanced at the hours of operation tacked on the wall then checked the time...five minutes too early. With a sigh, she put up her hood, stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, and rested herself against the niche in the wall.

A minute later, a group of incorporeal female voices strutted down the hall from the opposite direction.

“Since when did people do that sort of thing?”

“No, but really. You can tell she’s a huge slut; have you _looked_ at her? Probably payback for George dumping her."

“All her friends are the same anyway. You don’t get popular by f-ing everyone in school; it’s something you’re born with.”

“True. And then I heard she was trying to beat up Alex? What a mess.”

“What. Ever. Major. Loser!”

The doors separating the hallway from the outside slammed shut. All was quiet again—not a footstep was heard for another one-hundred and twenty seconds. Peri exhaled sharply and checked the time. Despite knowing no one had come to unlock the library doors, she jiggled the handle again. No dice.

 _“Forget it,”_ she thought, and stepped outside to face the intermittent brisk winds. Leaning over the bannister, she stared down upon her disloyal subjects but thought nothing of them. Not a thought passed through her mind as she watched students dance choreography from viral videos in a feeble attempt at humour, couples kissing against the walls like their grades depended on it, and teachers who darted past with papers under their arms trying not to display their contempt towards 21st century youth.

But when she noticed the fluffy faux-fur coat of Daphne making her way over on the second level, she spat an expletive within the confines of her head. Daphne, whose head was buried in her phone, walked over. When she was within a few feet of Peri, she lifted her gaze and Peri, who was intently watching, lifted a hand in politeness. Daphne shoved her device into her purse and approached her with a hair flip.

“What are you looking at?” she sneered.

“You.”

“Well don’t. The crew is over; I’m stepping down. If no one is motivated to come to our party, then that gives me no incentive in wasting my time planning it.”

“If it means that much to you, plan it on your own.”

Daphne chuckled, “I don’t have to. I’m back with Ingrid. She agreed to organise it with me...well, I’m helping her.”

Peri sucked in her lips, “Nice.”

“I have to go,” Daphne said, making her exit. But before she could go far, Peri turned around and called her name. To her surprise, Daphne stopped in her tracks.

“I’m not that kind of girl, you know,” Peri asserted.

Daphne screwed her neck around and sized her up with judging eyes, “Then what kind of girl are you?”

~~~~

 _“Hey, it’s Alex. Sorry I missed you; leave a message and I’ll call back! Ciao!_ ”

“Hey, it’s me, Peri. Call me back when you can…”

Peri opened up social media for the first time in two days. Red notification motifs with numbers in the dozens flashed before her eyes. When trying to remove a pop-up notification alerting her of a recent tag, her finger slipped and opened the post. It was a picture of her from the day she quarreled with Alexander, but the angle in which it was taken made it appear that she was caressing his chest while Alexia was straddling her from behind. There were words and laughing emoticons overlaid on the picture, but she quickly scrolled down to spare herself from any further nonsense. Forty comments, it read. Forty comments.

 _“Hey, it’s Alex. Sorry I missed you; leave a message and I’ll call back! Ciao!_ ”

“Hey, call me back _please!_ Where are you!?”

Peri looked down at the students below. The kid dancing had now stopped to share something on his phone with his other friends. The couples making out made her shudder and gag. Two teachers walking to class with their mail were muttering to each other. About what? The presence of everyone around was enough to make Peri's heart race and her mouth dry. With adrenaline pumping through her, she darted back into the hallway and dashed into the library where no one would dare look upon her. After making the cross-country journey, she threw herself into a heap on the floor in the furthest corner of the room surrounded by fiction books from authors ‘G’ through ‘H’. And she wept.

###  **Tuesday — morning**

With her hoodie snug around her frame and her hood hoisted, Peri walked into school. As she crossed the threshold, her phone vibrated—Alex. Of the female sort. She apologised for not being available the previous day and asked if Peri wanted to meet that morning as soon as she arrived on campus.

“No," Peri texted, "I don’t feel like talking right now. But thanks anyway.”

Peri entered the hallway where her locker was. Being so early in the day, there were only a handful of people inside and none of them noticed her new incognito persona. She walked a few steps to her locker and was greeted by a taped note that said, ‘For Peri’.

She looked across at the other students but they remained disinterested in whatever she was doing. Quickly, she ripped down the letter and unfolded it,

_“Oh boy. Lets see what kind of crappy note this is, then,”_

_“Sup, Peri, guess who? I know we haven’t spoken, but after all those guys you’ve slept with, when are you gonna give me a little piece of action? Muah.”_

Peri’s nostrils flared. Her jaw clenched. Her hands tore at the note until it was nothing more than scraps, and when that was done she crumpled it into a ball that even the most downtrodden cat wouldn’t want to play with and slammed it into the nearest bin.

Score.

###  **Wednesday — morning**

She missed her bus. But was it intentional or an accident, she refused to divulge the truth. Luckily, Janine drove to work early that morning and couldn’t hound Peri with questions about the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ or drag her by her toes into the car when the answers weren’t satisfactory. To relish in her few hours of freedom, Peri refused to let herself out of her bedroom or even draw back the curtains to let in the dawning of a new sunrise. Today was a day to take matters into her own hands and there was no way the sun’s brilliant rays were going to distract her.

Instead, she sat at her desk, powered up her laptop, and went straight to her preferred search engine without combing a single strand of her hair.

 _“How to change high schools_ ,” she typed.

Over a billion results were fetched and she immediately clicked on the first. A page with a handful of paragraphs underneath a stock photo of a group of joyous children flashed on her screen. Leaning in, Peri delved into her latest assigned reading:

_“Changing high schools is generally for first years who want to study something that isn’t a specialisation of their original school…’Personal convenience’ motivations aren’t prioritised.”_

She leaned back in her seat and drummed her fingers against the keyboard.

“Like that’s gonna stop me,” she whispered.

###  **Wednesday — afternoon**

Food was sizzling on the stove and aromatic fragrances were wafting through the house when Janine arrived home from work.

“Hi, mom,” Peri smiled as she tossed a Caesar salad with two wooden spoons.

“You’re making dinner? Well, what a pleasant surprise! We’ll eat now, if you don’t mind—I’m famished!”

“I just have to plate everything up,” Peri said.

Janine removed her coat and hung it on the rack beside the door before washing her hands and bringing two glasses of water over to the dining room table.

“How’s work?” Peri asked, setting down her mother’s plate followed by her own.

“Oh, fine, fine. We just got a huge grant in the department so everyone’s in high spirits.”

“So, more trips to Seychelles and Lebanon?”

“Finland and Turkey and everywhere in between,” Janine took a bite of her mahi-mahi, “Mm, scrumptious. Perfectly seasoned.”

“Thanks!” Peri stabbed at her greens, “I was wondering…”

“Yes?”

“Did you spend all four years at the same high school?”

“I...don’t think so,” Janine pointed her eyes to the ceiling and hummed, “No, I did my last three years somewhere else.”

“You transferred in the middle of the year?”

“After freshman year your grandparents decided I wasn’t being educated well and decided to place me in a different school.”

Peri sipped her water, “Oh.”

“Why?”

“No reason.”

Janine savoured herself in another bite of fish, “I know you’re an inquisitive person when you want to be, love, but if you’re asking me about _this_ of all things, there has to be a reason.”

Peri shook her head and pouted.

Janine set down her fork and gazed deeply into her daughter’s eyes, “Is everything alright at school, Peri? Making friends okay? Teachers okay? I’m sorry we had to move, but—”

“It’s fine, mom. Don’t worry,” she smiled.

“Mm,” her mother resumed eating, “Well, maybe we could watch a film tonight. Your choice.”

Peri picked at a tomato that kept dodging the constant attacks of the tines of her fork, “I have a lot of homework...so maybe some other day.”

From the corner of her eye, Janine watched her daughter like a hawk, but Peri kept her focus on her plate as she felt herself being lulled by the rustle of trees outside and the occasional engine of a car driving by. “Fine, love,” Janine said. And she reached for a dinner roll.

###  **Wednesday — night**

That night, Peri continued her research of possible schools in the area she could transfer into. But after scanning a few websites she concluded that all regular high schools were basically the same—she had first-hand knowledge to back up her hypothesis. The classes, save for one or two, were always the same and the student body—while the faces would be different—consisted of the same cliques, the same subcultures, and the same drama regardless of where the school was situated.

To humour herself, she started browsing through the local magnet programs specialising in the sciences.

 _“I wonder why mom didn’t enroll me in one of these,”_ she wondered, _“There, botany wouldn't be considered a joke like at my school…Maybe I'd learn something new for once.”_

Clicking around one of the magnet homepages, she found a photo of two girls, two boys, and a teacher holding a trophy underneath the caption, ‘Winner of Ravenswood Robotics Championship’. She did a doubletake and then sighed with relief. One of the students had the same blond, curly hair as the Doctor but because of his dark, conventional looking attire, it was obvious it was no one she knew.

Then she began to question why _he_ went to Charm City High School instead of any magnet school in the district. While searching around, she found a relatively popular magnet specialising in the arts and there were numerous who focused on STEM. For someone who was apparently deemed ‘more intelligent’ by the staff here, why didn’t he enroll somewhere where his talents would be a part of the main curriculum?

Peri brushed away the image of Claudius in her mind. There was no point in thinking about him as often as she did. Their friendship wasn’t made to last—she knew that now. He deserved someone better.

She tabbed back to the page of a generic high school and clicked on their ‘contact’ button. After copying the email address to her clipboard, she opened her messaging provider and started filling in the enquiry when she received a Skype request from Nathaniel. Confused, she accepted the call.

“Hi!” Nate grinned, “You weren’t at school today.”

“No.”

“Fuck. It’s messed up how you’re getting attacked over this.”

Peri shrugged, “I’m changing schools so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

Nate grimaced, “What!? Wait, why!?”

“Uh, because everything sucks now. You said it yourself.”

“Stop it, Peri. You’re not going to change schools just for that.”

“Well I am.”

“I didn’t think you were that type of person.”

Peri rolled her eyes. “I’m so tired of everyone saying that!” she yelled in hushed tones. “No one knows who I am yet everyone thinks I’m a slut! I’m tired of it, Nate!”

“I know...and even though I haven’t known you long, I figured you weren’t the kind of person who gives up easily.”

“No one knows anything about me—including you! Maybe I am the type who gives up! Maybe I am the type who runs away when things get too much for me to handle!”

“Dude, calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Nate! That’s the problem! No one bothers to understand what _I’m_ going through!”

Nate leaned back from the camera, “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it in that way.”

“I’m always fucking everything up, aren’t I?” Peri mewled, staring down at her keyboard.

“But, Peri, it’s not as complicated as it looks. ‘You are what you do.””

“Oh here we go with the cliches again…”

“If you leave the school because of this crap, then you’re the kind of person who gives up.”

Peri laughed through her nose, “So first the Doctor and now you with the freaking reverse psychology; spewing fancy phrases stolen from a cheap social media post made by a ten year old with access to Photoshop.”

Nate held up his hands and laughed, “Guilty. But seriously, don’t give up. I know we don’t talk much, but just know that I have your back.”

Peri’s face softened, “Thanks. That means a lot.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Maybe.”

###  **Friday — morning**

Peri was on her way to the library to eat lunch and enjoy her own company when she saw the faces of Imane and Alex stuffed into textbooks through the window. Peri walked in and took the liberty of sitting with them and, although startled, they greeted her with warm smiles and ‘hellos’.

“How are you?” Imane asked, placing her notebook between the textbook pages as a rudimentary bookmark.

“Fine!” Peri exulted, pulling out her lunch items. It was actually _verboten_ to eat within the library walls, but she figured that if she munched quietly enough, no one would notice. It’s not like the Doctor was there to slap her wrist.

“I saw Daphne with Ingrid earlier.”

“She told me a few days ago that they were working together for a Pepsi Max party. Daphne decided to step down from the crew and disband it completely.”

Imane and Alex’s brows shot to the moon.

“But why?” Imane asked with a somewhat concerned tone.

“Obviously because of me. But also because she didn’t really like you that much, either...no offense.”

“None taken.”

“What’d she think about me?” Alex bubbled.

Imane flounced her hand, “Uh, you knew her the longest.”

“And she never said anything bad about you,” Peri added.

“Oh, true. Yay!...Sorry.”

“But how do you guys feel about the crew breaking up?” Imane asked, looking at the two other girls at the table, “Kinda weird that she did that considering it was her life for the past couple months.”

“She has Ingrid now." Peri took a bite of her sandwich, “She’ll be fine. Anyway, all I’m concerned about is who spread that rumour…”

Imane twirled her pencil around her fingers, “Yeah...well actually, I might be able to help with that.”

Peri swallowed, “What? How?”

“I’ve been doing some research…(Peri’s eyes widened) and I’ve found the original poster of the rumour.”

“That must’ve taken you forever,” Alex said.

Imane shook her head, “We know when everything started—thanks to Daphne—so I just rolled back the history until I found the first post that everyone shared.”

Peri felt a knot in her throat. She set down her sandwich and ran a hand along the side of her face. Did she want to know? Well, of course she did!...But...did she? The question that had been stirring in her mind for days; the question that potentially ruined her friendship with the Doctor, Mel, and Flip; the question that made her (this) close from starting her life from scratch was about to be answered right here and right now. She rubbed her palms. They were damp and hot like the back of her neck. Maybe it wasn’t that important to know. Just a few more weeks and soon everyone would forget what happened...right?

“Do you want to know who it was?”

“Um…” Peri looked at Imane who, with just the force emitted from her glare, was commanding a ‘yes’. And then she looked at Alex who, in her natural jovial form, was giving an overt nod, “S...ure…”

“Okay,” Imane leaned in and dropped her voice to sotto, “It’s a girl named Ophelia.” She pulled up the appropriate post on her mobile and presented it to Peri who pretended to gag.

But the name didn’t ring a bell. Peri couldn’t decide if that made it better or worse that it was someone she had never heard of before.

“She’s in my chemistry class,” Imane continued, “Kinda quiet; kinda not. Moreso ‘not’. She isn’t popular on her own, but she has friends of friends in high places.”

Peri traced the pattern of wood grain with her index finger. And then she sat up, straightened her back, and slammed her fist on the table, “How can we meet? I have a few choice words to throw at her!”

“Chem is my last class—with Mr. Miller—you can meet her afterwards. She usually takes her time leaving.”

Peri’s face beamed with newfound confidence, “Perfect.”

###  **Friday — afternoon**

As soon as the bell rang signalling the end of the school week, Peri bolted out of class. Once she stepped into the open, for a brief moment, she was the only one outdoors (save for the administrators who were always at the ready in case of a stray fight or other display of disorderly conduct). This two second headstart gave her just enough time to run a few yards in the direction of Mr. Miller’s room.

A deluge of children funneled out into the courtyard with their conversations set to the highest decibel level. The sudden influx slowed her down but she was in no way being counted out. After lunch, she made a point to trace the quickest possible route to Imane’s class from her own—this rumour was being stopped _today_.

An administrator yelled at her to stop running. It was probably a good idea as she was going in the opposite direction of the horde, but instead of decreasing to a steady, walking pace, she alternated between a quick jog and a speedy walk.

Imane was waiting for her outside the door, “She’s in there!”

Once Peri was out of the way of the crowd she slapped her hands against her thighs and panted, “I’ll wait!”

The second Ophelia—a girl about the same height as Peri with a thick, wavy ponytail—stepped out of class, Peri finished cracking her knuckles and was ready to rumble. She pushed Ophelia around the corner, where authority's radar was out of bounds, and up against the white, concrete walls of the building.

“HOW COULD YOU!?” Peri screamed, holding the girl’s arms against the wall like two manacles, “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?”

Ophelia’s mouth hung agape but, to Peri’s surprise, she didn’t bother to fight back, “W—what!?”

“Why would you spread that rumour!? You know full well I never did the crap you described in that post! What kind of twisted person do you have to be to upload stuff like that!?”

A chunk of students in the surrounding area stopped their mad dash to the buses and their personal vehicles and stopped to watch what they hoped would be a backyard brawl.

“Do you know how much you’ve ruined my life!?”

Ophelia's red lipsticked lips lifted shut. She stared at Peri with an almost sorrowful look across her face. “I know,” she mumbled.

“Well!? _WHY_ did you do it!?”

“It’s stupid, honestly…”

“The whole freaking situation is stupid!”

Ophelia wiggled her fingers, “Can you let go of me?”

Peri tightened her grip, “How can I be sure you won’t run away?” Little did Ophelia know, but if she ran off, Peri made a vow to herself that she’d chase after her like a lion after its prey. And she didn’t care which member of staff was eager to write her up for suspension—her testimony was enough to keep her record spotless.

The prisoner bit her lip, “Because I...I do feel bad. Like, honestly, I’m sorry.”

Peri’s hands dropped to her sides and Ophelia’s followed. They both pushed away stray strands of hair from their eyes, but kept staring into each other’s similarly-coloured pupils.

“I only did it because I...I was paid. And I was in a desperate situation for some cash.”

Now it was Peri’s turn to hold her mouth wide open, “You’re kidding.”

“No.”

The confession rewinded itself in Peri’s mind, “Wait...then who paid you?”

Ophelia unraveled her ponytail and wrapped the violet hair band around her wrist, “Um...Lisa.”

A loading wheel turned in Peri’s head, “...Lisa? I don’t know them.”

“The girl you’re always hanging around, with the colourful hair.”

The wheel spun faster and faster. She didn’t know a Lisa but she certainly knew people with ‘unconventional’ hair colours...it _was_ high school after all.

Ophelia started fluffing her hair to shape, “Not Lisa...Alex? Isn’t that her name?”

Peri choked on air, “Wait, it was _Alex_ who told you to spread the rumour?”

“Yeah, she was going around class asking if anyone would do her the favour…”

“ _Alex_? _Alexia?_ ”

Ophelia nodded, “I thought you knew…”


	8. Chapter 8

###  **Saturday — afternoon**

_“Hey, it’s Alex. Sorry I missed you; leave a message and I’ll call back! Ciao!_ ”

Numerous dropped calls, multiple buses, and a long march down the road in the shivering weather wasn’t enough to keep Peri from meeting Alex at the one place she knew she’d be: the skatepark. Alex always mentioned how she spent her Saturdays there either practising tricks or doing casual ride-throughs. Before, Peri never thought anything of her leisure time...but now it was certainly coming in handy.

The revelation that _Alex_ —of all people—was conspiring against her was akin to dropping dead only to be shocked back to life a moment later. How was it that someone you were supposedly close to, someone who was meant to be an ally, could smile in your face while stabbing you in the back? Peri sometimes considered herself an armchair sociologist, but that was one concept she failed to understand. Doing such a thing to...well _anyone_ felt like a stain against her conscience. A crime against humanity.

_“Alex! Answer your freaking phone! We need to talk!”_

With her thick, blue coat and her brunette tresses covered with a cream beanie, she stomped along the busy downtown streets like the revolutionaries ready to storm the Bastille.

The skatepark was on the outskirts of the downtown district only a few yards away from an overpass with an endless swarm of vehicles every second of the hour. Colourful, homegrown graffiti depicting characters, phrases, and tags were scrawled along the bowls, steps, and ramps. Peri stood on the boundary separating the street from the park with her eyes scrutinising every person in sight. Tall, lanky guys of all ages were popping off handrails and grinding off the edges of bowls as the shorter ones watched with awe. Having never skated a day in her life, she felt a bit out of her element.

Walking inside, she strolled about the park with her hands tucked in her pockets and her shoulders rolled back, hoping that none of the guys paid her any mind. Yes, she was single, but she certainly was _not_ interested.

Alex was in one of the bowls spotted with a bunch of miniature dents inside. She wasn’t doing anything Hawk-level; she looked more like a fledgling bird attempting to fly for the first time.

Peri pulled up Alex’s contact number and dialed it. Alex rolled to a smooth stop and did a cursory glance at her phone before shoving it back in her jeans.

“That’s alright!” Peri yelled, ensuring that she was the first thing Alex saw when her head lifted, “We can talk in person since you find my phone calls such a nuisance.”

Alex smiled and kicked up her board, “Oh, sorry, Peri. It’s just, I don’t like any distractions when I’m practising.”

“Didn't your parents ever tell you to wear a helmet?” Peri jeered, “Actually, I don’t know why I’m even bothering to give you advice.”

“Huh? What’s up, girlie?” Alex climbed up to Peri and led her over to a bench that wasn’t being flipped and carved upon. Alex made herself comfortable while Peri continued to stand with her feet firmly planted on the concrete.

“Don’t act like you don’t know.”

“I...don’t?”

“I know you were the one who started the rumour. All your faux consoling was just an attempt to lead me off your trail, but guess what? I know how to navigate difficult terrain better than you do. The gig’s up, Alex.”

Alex rolled her board back and forth horizontally under her feet as she sat, “Ummm…”

Peri snapped her neck and scoffed, “Trying to come up with a good lie?”

“No...I’m just,” she scratched her head, “I’m shocked.”

“Oh really? That makes two of us. You were _supposed_ to be my friend! Why would you even start a rumour like that in the first place!?”

“You really don’t know?”

“How the heck would I?!"

Alex stared at her with her mouth somewhat twisted.

Peri wriggled her face. Like a dramatic movie flashback, her memories of Alex flashed before her eyes like the universe being sucked into the vortex of her mind. But there was nothing Alex did that seemed pertinent to the issue at hand...except...her strong feelings for the Doctor that she wasn’t shy to express.

“Wait, you...you did this because you were jealous?”

“Duh.”

“But...I don’t understand?”

“Here I am watching you—a girl who literally just enrolled in this school—become friends with Claudius at the drop of a hat. I’ve wanted to be his friend for _years_ and you just walked in and stole him away like it was nothing.”

Peri grimaced, “I didn’t _steal_ anyone! It was him who approached me first!”

“Like that makes it any better,” Alex crossed her legs at the ankle and slid herself into a reclining position.

“Alex, if you wanted to be friends with him, why didn’t you just _ask_ him? You became friends with Imane and I _know_ you aren’t an introvert.”

Alex clapped her hands and sprung to her feet. Her green eyes bore into Peri’s soul. “Do you know how many times I’ve _TRIED_?” She yelled, prodding her own chest to the beat of her words, “I’ve been trying for _YEARS!_ He _NEVER_ returns the favour! He always acts like I’m beneath him.” She stepped back and sized up the girl standing before her, “What the hell’s so special about you anyway?”

Peri couldn’t help but give a faint laugh, “You have problems. Maybe he doesn’t like you because he sensed that you’re a fucking maniac. If you’re willing to pay a third-party to slander our names, what else are you willing to do?” She stepped closer, “Give it up, Alex. He doesn’t fucking like you. And neither do I.”

“Oh, here goes Miss Peri,” Alex walked around the bench doing a stereotypical impression of either an effeminate man or a prissy member of royalty—Peri couldn’t figure out which. “Thinks she’s hot stuff because she’s friends with Claude!”

“You know,” Peri moved only her eyes as she watched Alex’s motions, “I don’t think you even liked him for him anyway. It’s just like Daphne said: you have some weird ‘clown’ fetish and that’s the only reason why you wanted to be ‘friends’ with him. Well, joke’s on you.”

“So? You’ve never heard of people who love feet or have sex with inanimate objects? Everyone’s got their own interests, Peri. Grow up.”

“You can love someone’s feet but you don’t have to chase them down for years after they’ve declined your invitation!” Peri slapped her forehead in disbelief, “I can’t believe we’re actually having this conversation right now. You...Alex...you are something else, seriously.” With each word she took a step back, away from the girl who she no longer knew, “Stay out of my life and stay out of his!”

“Whatever. I’m done with both of you.”

“Actually,” Peri ceased her backwards stroll and smiled, “There _is_ someone who’d love to take you up on your offer...his name is Jojo.” She winked, “Look him up.”

###  **Saturday — afternoon**

The next day, Peri took a bus to get to the university area of Baltimore. A youthful, trendy area it was, full of vintage consignment shops, cozy cafes, record stores, and used bookstores that have occupied the same lot for decades. After a successful meeting (if she did say so herself) with Alex yesterday, Peri jumped at the chance to contact the Doctor to give him the latest update. Intrigued, he suggested they spend a day out to catch up on everything they’ve missed in each other’s lives.

At first Peri was taken aback by his capricious attitude towards her, but when she stared up at her ceiling that night, taking in everything she had lived through...she realised his demeanour never truly changed at all.

A bell chimed as she entered the store. There was nothing like the aromatic musty smell of old books and the mellow lulls of songs from artists no one except hipsters had heard of to placate the senses. The cashier greeted her with a nod and continued to price new releases bought from a previous shopper. There were a handful of people sitting by the front entrance reading their selections or browsing the web while sipping on coffee and tea brewed by the inhouse barista. Behind them were rows of shelves organised by genre starting from classic fiction and ending with smutty short stories. There was also a row of shelves dedicated to DVDs, VHS, and BluRays of films and television shows alike.

Peri unbuttoned her coat as she sauntered inside. Now, which aisle could the Doctor be in? In true detective form, she started at the beginning and worked her way down...down...down...past the comics, past the political non-fiction, and past the art portfolios…

In a place whose colour scheme was primarily brown, the Doctor stood out like...well, a rainbow in the dark!

“Hi, Doctor!” Peri said, approaching him at the far-end of the aisle designated as ‘esoterica and skepticism’.

He removed his nose from the centre of Sagan’s _Demon Haunted World_ and embraced her in a sideways hug, “Peri! How wonderful to see your smiling face this afternoon.”

“Same to you,” she smiled. “Whatcha reading?”

“World renowned astrophysicist and avid skeptic—Mister Carl Sagan. Have you heard of him?”

“ _Have I?_ My mom’s an archeologist; not exactly the same thing but they tend to run in the same oddball circles. We have the boxset of _Cosmos_ at home.”

“Do you?” he chuffed, “Fascinating. I admit I’m overdue for a rewatch.” He set the book back in its proper place on the shelf, “‘We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever'...a brilliant quote. And apt for the situation at hand.”

They sat on two glossy, bold geometric chairs stolen from the time mid-century modern dominated the world. The back of the bookstore where the, ahem, smutty novels were located was the least frequented area of the building, meaning you could speak in soft enough tones that no one would consider you to be a disturbance.

“Now, tell me more about this rumour fiasco,” he said, making himself comfortable.

Peri lifted a brow, “I didn’t think you cared!”

“I don’t!” he sputtered, “But, I care about how it's affecting you.”

She ran her finger along the groove of one of the turtle-shell buttons on her coat, “It was my friend—well, someone I thought was my friend. Alex, from the crew.”

“Alex?” he emphasised, “ _Alexia Martineau?”_

“The one and only.”

“That duplicitous scoundrel!”

“I know right? And guess why she did it?”

“Me.”

“So it’s no secret then.”

The Doctor shook his head, “She’s like a slug in the garden or a rat scurrying in the walls—I can’t seem to get rid of her! I am, of course, flattered to have my own personal fanbase, but there is a fine line between being a _fan_ and being a rabid zealot.”

“Yeah,” Peri clicked her teeth, “She told me about the crazy stuff she’s into; I couldn’t believe it myself. I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“...Likewise.”

“It was stupid of me to hang out with those girls anyway. Imane was cool, but honestly none of us had anything in common. And the popular guys are all sex-crazed blockheads who don’t know the difference between a perianth and a perihelion.”

The Doctor cocked his head, “A peri—what now?”

Peri looked at him askance and threw up her hands in a shrug, “I have no idea!”

###  **Sunday — evening**

Peri chowed down on her dinner like there was no tomorrow. “Hey, mom?” she said after swallowing a mouthful of greens, “Can I have a Christmas party?”

Janine dropped her fork against the porcelain plate and gasped, “Woah, woah. The last time we talked about school you said you hadn’t made any friends yet. And I know you broke up with that boyfriend of yours.”

“It was...sort of a lie.”

“You’re still with him?” Her mother monotoned.

“No! No, I mean, I did kind of have friends...I just didn’t realise how much they meant to me.”

“Oh,” Janine picked up her utensil, “Well, it depends—”

“They’re really nice people, mom,” Peri asserted, “I think you’ll like them.”

“Are you _sure_ about that, love?”

“Mhmm! They’re everything you ever wanted me to have…” her voice lowered, “I haven’t known them long and yet they’ve already taught me so much. You were right (her mother was shocked to hear these words), the people I used to hang out with weren’t good enough for me.”

“I’m glad you finally see it that way,” Janine smiled, “Okay, Peri, well whatever you need me to do, just let me know.” She sat back and looked out at the horizon longingly, “My daughter throwing a Christmas party...I can't believe it...Well it's certainly a far cry from your usual haunts at the mall!”

###  **Monday — morning**

Imane waved to Peri from the opposite end of the courtyard during lunch. Peri, who was on her way to sit with the Doctor, Mel, and Flip in the auditorium, found the greeting to come at an exceptionally opportune time. She switched tracks and jogged over to Imane who was standing in front of the cafeteria’s double doors.

“Hey!”

“Had a relaxing weekend?” Imane said with a wink.

“You have no idea. While you were right about Ophelia, it actually wasn’t her idea to spread the rumour.”

Imane’s backpack strap slid from her shoulder, “What? Then who was it?”

“Alexia,” Peri laughed, “I couldn’t believe it either!”

“Wait, wait…,” Imane pulled Peri over to the corner so they weren’t blocking the doorway, “You’ve gotta explain.”

So Peri recounted the entire situation as she knew it, complete with direct quotes and a minute-by-minute account of her thought process.

Imane choked on air, “Dang...so I guess the group really is dead.”

Peri shrugged, “Even if she didn’t do it I would’ve left.”

“But why? We all wanted to make our names known in this school.”

Peri shot her a look askance, “I think I’ve done enough of that, don’t you?”

“True,” Imane chuffed, “But still. What about the party we were planning? We don’t need Daphne or Alex!”

“Yeah, but…,” Telling Imane her true feelings felt more uncomfortable than dumping George. At least with him, there were outward signs that he wasn’t a good match for her. But with the last remaining crew member, the ‘break up’ wasn’t because she was a terrible person or because she committed an act of offense, but simply because there wasn’t enough glue keeping them together.

The basis of their interaction revolved around one thing: the party. With Peri no longer interested, there was nothing left for them to say, nothing left for them to do. And, at the same time, Imane’s presence only reminded her of experiences she preferred to leave behind.

“I don’t think I understand,” Imane said.

“Popularity is nothing more than a contest or a game of Russian roulette, Imane. Popularity doesn’t determine the quality of a person, it only shows how much they conform with the masses. And sometimes there’s luck involved. Look, what I’m trying to say is that, for your sake, you don’t need that in your life.”

“So you’re trying to say I’ll never _be_ someone?” she accused.

Peri held on to Imane’s forearms and shook them gently, “You already are someone! _Yourself!_ Don’t change to fit in with people who don’t matter!”

“But the popular kids obviously matter—that’s why they’re popular?”

Peri stepped back, “Okay. Name the top five most popular students from the graduating class three years ago.”

Imane parted her lips then shut them immediately.

“Exactly. And the same thing will happen with this bunch of seniors. And the next. And the next...once we officially leave these walls no one will remember the names of those who played the best beer pong or was Charles’ thirty-eighth girlfriend.”

“You’re right. But...what am I supposed to do then?”

“Anything you want!” Peri exclaimed, harnessing the Doctor’s energy, “The world is your oyster!”

Imane gave Peri a final hug and they went their separate ways. Being able to sit around with her _real_ friends on stage without the burden of living a double life was like being granted a new lease on life. Colours shined more vibrantly, laughs were more hearty, and smiles were more organic. Whatever those ‘popular kids’ were doing could never compare to the fun Peri and Company could pack into lunch hour. A botanist, a polymath, a computer programmer, and a dancer walk into a bar…

###  **Monday — afternoon**

Once the bell rang to signal the end of Peri and the Doctor’s tutoring session, she was off to her next class. After last week’s debacle, this session fit in twice as many concepts as usual. Despite that, she didn’t feel overwhelmed in the slightest—the Doctor was the kind of instructor who broke everything down to a fraction of an inch. And while he did have his moments of rambling as though he was teaching a group Physics III undergrads, he was more than willing to explain an idea as many times as necessary for one to comprehend (read: up to two times. After that, he would get rather irritable!)

Peri shimmied down the steps to the ground level of the school when George approached her from behind, grabbing at her shoulder to pull her to a halt.

“Yo, Pears,” he said, calmly.

Peri grimaced and shook him off, “What is it?”

“Is everything alright?”

“...Why...wouldn’t it be?”

“Because of everything that happened, y’know.”

“George,” she said, “That’s literally old news. If you cared, you would’ve brought it up days ago.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know what to say,” he tried to stop himself from chuckling. “Like, that was pretty crazy because you were so adamant that we couldn’t—”

“I get it,” she interrupted, “And it’s all fine now. No thanks to you.”

“Geez, I just wanted to show some support!”

“You’ve _never_ shown me any kind of genuine support. The only times you ‘attempted’ to was when you were trying to flatter me into doing you a favour.”

George wet his lips, “That was the old me.”

Peri looked at him with an expression that read ‘yeah, right!’, but he remained steadfast that he was a changed man.

“I realise now that you’re not like other girls.” With a slick move he reached over to caress Peri’s fingers but she quickly pulled away with disgust, “You’re not as vapid and superficial.”

“You said that to me before, George. Geez, how dumb do you think I am?”

“Not at all.”

“Read my lips: I. Don’t. Want. You. In my life. Anymore.”

“Dude…,” he knocked his head back, “Come on, man.”

She clicked on the display of her phone. There was one minute until the bell was scheduled to ring again and she wasn’t willing to risk a tardy because of his phony apologies, “Bye, George,” she said with a smile, “And good riddance.”


	9. Chapter 9

###  **Saturday — morning**

“Mom! Where are the geometric ornaments!?” Peri called.

A few moments later her mother yelled back from the home office, “I think they’re at the bottom of the blue container!”

There was the frantic sound of digging through a gallimaufry of odds and ends and bits and baubles from years’ past. There were ornaments ranging from homemade (read: made in class) from when Peri was a wee child in preschool and elementary, to old remnants from Janine’s own family Christmases, and even decor left over from when Paul—Peri’s father—was still alive. Peri picked up one of the small boxes containing a miniature, grey grand tourer made out of metal—the Aston Martin DB5. It was one of her father’s favourite luxury vehicles because it belonged to his favourite character of all time: Bond. James Bond. Peri couldn’t catch a whiff of that franchise without feeling a pang in her heart for her departed relative. In the relatively short time they had been acquainted, they must have watched the films at least a hundred times each to the point where they had no trouble in reciting the script in the middle of the produce section of the supermarket. And when they weren’t gathered around the television set, Paul was teaching her the many tricks of the trade: car servicing from his mud-stained Chevy pickup (which, now, she only recalled how to change a tire), how to shoot shotguns, and a skill that she was still learning even now—how to stand up and be true to herself.

With a wistful smile, she carefully set down the ornament box and continued searching for the items she was originally looking for.

“I got it!” Peri exclaimed, pulling out a moderately flat plastic piece of tupperware that had an assortment of tiny geometric shapes. These weren’t the traditional squares and circles, but brass octagonal prisms, tetrahedra, and icosahedra! She and Janine loved to collect ornaments from around the world and these himmeli—from Scandinavia—were just the ticket for two scientists...or a scientist and her hopeful daughter.

With a keen eye, Peri began placing the himmeli beside the fruit-shaped kugel ornaments; the kitchy souvenirs sculpted to look like Santa in lederhosen, a gondolier, or a phone box; and the bulbs wrapped in colourful Ankara cloth or strung with beads.

With the tinsel and lights already in place, she stepped back to admire her handiwork. After a confident nod, she called for her mother to add the final touch: the star.

Janine came shuffling out in her slippers. “Wow, Peri,” she gasped, “You’ve really gone all out this year; I’ve never seen you so eager to decorate!”

“I’m in a festive mood,” she chirped, “It doesn’t look too bare?”

“Too bare? You’re joking!” Janine walked around the faux-fir tree, examining it from tip to metal trunk, “It’s more covered than last year’s!”

“ _And_ I still have to dust and decorate the rest of the house!”

Janine slapped the side of her head in jest, “I know you have a party scheduled, but I’ve never seen you put this much effort into the preparations. When I planned to invite the president of the archaeological society over for dinner, you dusted off the mantle with your finger and called it a day!”

Peri made circles in the carpet with her sock, “Yeaahh...but this is different.”

“Because they’re _your_ friends,” Janine smiled like a fox, “That’s why I’m leaving it _allllll_ to you, see? That’s my reprisal!”

Peri rolled her eyes playfully and handed her mom the geometric, illuminated star, “Well thanks! It’s better than sitting around doing nothing.”

Janine went to grab a footstool from the corner of the living room. In the meantime, Peri walked back to the blue box and removed the Aston Martin knickknack. And when she did she spotted the curious shape of her father’s old jalopy and piled that into her arms as well.

“Mom?”

“Yes, love?” Janine said as she affixed the star on the treetop with a bit of give and take.

“I thought…,” Peri gazed down at the sculpted trinkets, “Maybe we could start putting dad’s ornaments back on the tree again…”

Janine stepped down and removed the Chevy from her daughter’s hand. A small sigh passed through her lips and she nodded, “Yes, that would be a good idea, wouldn’t it?...Oh, if only Paul could see how much you’ve grown.”

###  **Friday — afternoon**

After school, Peri didn’t step onto the bus that took her home five days a week. Instead, she moseyed down the street to the popular hypermarket chain to purchase what else? Gifts!

As usual, the place was bustling with shoppers, but soon it would start flooding in with loitering teens who would take advantage of the soda machines and snack aisles hosting a selection of sweets and junk food that they were now barred from purchasing on campus.

All week Peri had been contemplating what she should get for the Doctor, Mel, and Flip. Quite honestly, she found them all rather difficult to shop for. It’s not like she could buy Flip a dance club, Mel a high-tech computer system, and the Doctor an authentic cuneiform tablet! But, then again, they probably thought the same thing about her.

With her shopping basket in hand and her bookbag strapped to her back, Peri strolled along the aisles of the department store. And then, abashedly, she remembered: she couldn’t leave her mom out of the equation!

Browsing around, Peri came to the conclusion that Mel, in theory, was perhaps the easiest one of the four to shop for. When someone’s as interested in technology as she was, the entire electronics section of the store was considered fair game. Speakers, disc players, video game consoles, the video games themselves, headsets to play with said video games...the only issue was price. Melanie was a game fiend. Any game, regardless if it was an indie digital-only release or a blockbuster smash from a major franchise, was her cup of tea. Genre didn’t matter either! She had every _Sims_ game and expansion pack starting from the initial installment; same with _Fallout_ and the _Elder Scrolls_. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours were clocked into online games from _Runescape_ and _World of Warcraft;_ to _Project: DIVA_ and _Persona_. Unfortunately the physical versions of these games were far from cheap and, at the same time, she wasn’t sure which selection behind the glass Mel _hadn’t_ owned!

Philippa was the most conventional one of the bunch. Her interests aligned more with the pop culture of today as opposed to the trends of five-hundred years ago or already being in the twenty-third century. The one downfall of popular culture are the trends—what’s hot on the shelves today can become obsolete by tomorrow. Peri didn’t feel it was worthwhile to capitalise on silly phases—something that Flip would discard in two months’ time. But considering that dancing at teen clubs was one of her most prominent hobbies and that she was starting hip-hop choreography lessons at the local studio…

And then there was the Doctor; a jack of all trades and... _ahem_. Peri had already returned to the used bookstore earlier in the week to buy his gift, which she was now patting herself on the back for. There was nothing at the hypermarket that came close to his interests other than, oh, a pack of paper or that pair of _My Little Pony_ Croc knockoffs hanging off the endcap. But that was a bit too heavy handed. She didn't know his size anyhow.

Lastly was her mother, Janine Brown, who was a relatively simple person in terms of interests. Diamonds and jewelry were at the very bottom of her list of ‘likes’ (in fact, she abhorred the gem industry), but what is one supposed to give a person who has travelled around the world and back? Who has enough unique souvenirs that a mass-produced trinket from the store would seem like an insult? There had to be something here for her.

After collecting her spoils, Peri made her way to the shortest checkout line behind a young boy whose only had a few items in his hands. He slapped down a bag of Sour Patch Kids and a bottle of Coke onto the conveyor belt when Peri greeted him with a smile,

“Nate?”

The boy spun around with his eyes widened. “Peri!” he sputtered, “Uh...this is awkward?”

Peri sat her basket on the edge of the counter, “Why?”

Nathaniel glanced down at the remaining item in his hand—a deluxe CD of Rainbow’s Greatest Hits—and sucked in his lips. With him (and George) both being fans of mostly rap and rap alone, Peri figured the CD wasn’t for anyone in his circle. “It’s...uh...it’s for you,” he admitted.

She plucked the disc case from his hand and inspected it with exaggerated expressions of intrigue, “Wooww, Nate, you didn’t have to get me anything! Especially since we don’t have George to bring us together anymore.”

“I know,” he placed the CD on the conveyor for the cashier to scan. “But I thought I’d give you a gift anyway. And...it just seemed fitting.”

Peri chuckled, “It definitely is. And, coincidentally, Ronnie James Dio is one of my favourite metal vocalists.”

Nate’s cheeks flushed, “Really? Well I thought you’d get a kick out of that!”

###  **Friday — night**

_“...Look away from the sea // I can take you anywhere // Spend a vision with me // A chase with the wind…”_

Peri’s head bobbed as the sweeping, Middle Eastern instrumentation flowed through her headphones and into her core. As she sat up against her pillows, her fingers drummed against the notebook she had opened to the first clean page.

In addition to the Doctor’s material present, she felt inclined to surprise him with another gift: a hand-written poem created from the depths of her soul. Well, that is if she could think of a topic to write about. Over the course of the week she had been perusing online poetry databases in hopes of obtaining a spark of inspiration, but many of the popular 19th century pieces were about romance, war, or other topics she either had little knowledge about or that would send the wrong message between two friends.

It didn’t help that whatever lighthearted idea Peri could possibly conjure up was being stomped on by the heavy vocals of Dio. How people could study while listening to music was beyond her; even something as ‘unobtrusive’ as classical made her mind veer more towards the sharp, harmonious strings than whatever text was open in front of her.

When the song came to a coda, Peri clicked off her CD player and removed her headset, tossing them both onto her bed. Should she write about one of the Doctor’s interests? Or one of her own? Writing about one of his would surely lead to him scrutinising the facts for accuracy; while writing about one of hers felt a bit selfish? But poetry wasn’t something she ever cared for in the first place.

“It sounds pretentious,” she’d always say, regardless if the subject was about Roman iconography or someone’s fun day out at the park. The inevitable poetry module that cropped up every year at school was always met with scorn from Peri, which confused the teachers as she was typically the most well-read student in class. But dearest Peri preferred to watch paint dry than read how a plastic bag floating in the wind made someone have a grand epiphany about the meaning of life.

And because she couldn’t care less, her skills were a bit rusty on the matter. To rhyme or not to rhyme? To include a moral or leave it without? There were so many questions that went into a good poem and, according to English instructors, even more so once the blasted thing was written. Upbeat, downtrodden, sonnet, or haiku?

Peri decided to quench her thirst instead.

Walking out into the holly-filled living room coruscating with twinkling lights, a pink, beaded bracelet on the mahogany coffee table caught her eye. Jewelry like that didn’t belong to her, and even more so her mother. She grabbed the bracelet and stretched it back and forth.

“I found it under the couch,” Janine said, passing by her.

“Geez…” Peri muttered, “Alex said she lost this a while ago.”

Entering the kitchen, she harnessed her inner Sabathia and tossed the beads right where they belonged.

 _“Now,_ ” she thought, opening the refrigerator, _“What should I have to drink?”_

###  **Saturday — night**

“Oh my gosh, your cider is deeellicious, Peri! I can’t get enough!”

With a simpering smile, Peri flounced her hand in humility, “Aw, thanks Flip. I make it every year! And it’s not too difficult, actually.”

“Well, you know what that means don’tcha?” Flip winked and grabbed her refilled glass before joining the Doctor and Mel in sitting around the open fire (chestnuts not included).

The Christmas festivities were already in full swing in the Brown household. As far as the party was concerned, religious holiday music was mostly forgotten in favour of an assortment of pop and rock hits (with a few mellow Carpenters’ classics for Janine and harmonious church cantatas for you-know-who) that played in the background courtesy of Peri’s handy cellular device and a Bluetooth speaker. The smell of gingerbread, cranberry sauce, cake, and ale wafted their heavenly scents throughout the home, still whetting palates well after everyone’s bellies were full. A champion sight for Peri and her mother who were scrambling for two days to prepare a feast of the ages: meats, starches, vegetables, and desserts galore! Why, their productivity made them appear more like trained professionals from Food Network or _America’s Test Kitchen_ than two casual home cooks who had no qualms about eating dinner plucked the frozen section. But could anyone tell the difference? The sparkling clean plates told otherwise!

After dinner and a wonderful conversation about everything from fossils to male pop vocalists, Peri invited her guests back into the bedazzled foyer that was covered from floor to ceiling with garland and tinsel; and sculptures of reindeer and angels. A wood fire was roaring under the mantle where a grand wreath was hung. It was speckled with berries and pinecones; and adorned with a giant red, plaid bow.

“That tree’s brighter than my future,” Flip joked, flopping herself on the sofa between the Doctor and Mel.

“Oh, nonsense,” the Doctor said, “No one here will have anything but a bright and prosperous future.”

“Hear, hear!” Mel cheered.

Janine took a seat on one of the end chairs as a smile creeped up along her suntanned face. She, of course, would never say it in the presence of Peri’s friends, but was she pleased that her daughter finally picked a brilliant group of people to spend her time with! They were all well-rounded folk with interests deeper than a kiddie pool and aspirations that any parent would be proud of. If they managed to remain friends well after high school, there was no doubt they’d be friends for life. “Yea verily!” she exulted.

Peri was the last to make her appearance around the glistening tree. With a dramatic Superman-like jump, she greeted them all with a fluffy red Santa hat upon her head and a thick, white beard. “Ho ho ho!” she chortled, “I am Santa Peri—or _Saint_ Peri, if you prefer—and I am here on behalf of Mr Claus to bestow a swathe of gifts upon you jolly folk. But first,” her voice lowered in volume, “I must decide who is naughty...and who has been nice.”

“Psh, I know I’ve been nice,” Flip sneered. "I bet I'm the nicest one 'ere."

Peri pretended to unravel a parchment scroll and peruse the list of names with her finger, “Ah, yes, Philippa Jackson. You have been a nice one this year, indeed.”

Flip took a sip of her cider with her pinkie long extended. “Told ya,” she smirked.

“What about me?” Mel said.

“Melanie...Bush...a very spunky character you’ve been—don’t ever stop!”

“I don’t think I could! It would probably mean the death of me!”

All eyes turned to the Doctor who was reaching for a chocolate-chip cookie on the platter sitting before them. In the process, he happened to grab two and felt pleasantly surprised by the occurrence.

Mel laughed breathily through her nose, “But what about the Doctor?”

“What about _me_?” he scoffed and took a bite out of one of his chocolate delights. “I’ve obviously been the nicest one here! In fact, my name should be at the top of that list of yours, Saint _Perpugilliam_.”

Peri ran her finger down to the bottom of the scroll and shook her head, “Hm, I can’t seem to find you.” She then mimed pulling up the rest of the list from the winding pile on the floor until she had reached the opposite pair of handles, “Here you are...Claudius Dark right at the end! But what’s this?”

"Say no more!" The Doctor placed a hand on his chest and pretended to swoon, "Despite the rather tumultuous encounters I've had over the course of the year, I humbly accept the honour of being deemed the most admirable person in all the land!”

“You’re naughty.”

A record scratch rung out in the air, stopping time for a brief moment.

His face went blank, “Excuse me?”

Peri mimed donning a pair of spectacles and held the paper close to her face, “ _Claudius Dark,_ ” she read, “ _The naughtiest of all naughties._ _Deserves not even a lump of coal.”_

“This is blasphemous!”

“Tut tut, Doctor!” Mel laughed, “Probably because of all those cookies you’ve been eating. The plate’s almost empty because of you!”

“Poor Santa; there’s nothing left for him,” Flip shook her head.

“Poor Santa?" He repeated incredulously, "He’s the one with the magical sleigh! He can pop over to the nearest store and buy as many cartons of cookies as he wishes!”

“Backtalking Santa,” Peri clicked her teeth, “Very naughty indeed.”

His cheeks flushing with pink, the Doctor pursed his lips and slid the remainder of the sweet treat into his mouth without another word.

“But don’t fret, Doctor,” Peri removed her beard and resumed her regular speaking pitch, “You’ve been an awesome friend to me so I don’t really care what Saint Nick has to say! Anyway, I’m sure that was only because of a glitch in the system.”

Mel stuck out the tip of her tongue, “He should’ve asked me to run the debugger! I could’ve coded the program to run without a hitch.”

“Check his website,” Janine grinned, “He probably has a spot open for you!”

Peri swivelled around and stacked a bunch of gifts taken from underneath the tree in the crook of her arm. Each box was then handed to each of the four members of the audience who looked upon their hidden treasures with intrigue.

“You know, Peri,” Mel rattled her gift next to her ear, “When Flip and I first met you, you said you weren’t a thespian. But I thought you did a great job acting!”

“Oh hush,” Peri said, “That was nothing compared to what you guys do. Now...um…,” she twisted her hands in front of her, “Before you open your gifts, I just wanted to say thanks. Again. For sticking by me despite all the craziness we were going through. I don’t know where I’d be if you two (she glanced at Philippa and Mel) didn’t approach me that day in the computer lab and if you, Doctor, never said hi to me at that party. Honestly, I don’t even want to imagine. And even though I haven’t known you three for long, you’re all probably the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Her friends blushed and mumbled varying degrees of ‘thank yous’.

“And mom,” Peri continued, “I don’t need to tell you how much you mean to me, so...thanks...for everything. Finding friends can be a fickle thing, but at least I always know you’re by my side.”

Janine, her lips quivering with gratitude, rose to her feet and wrapped her daughter in a warm hug, squeezing as tightly as she could muster. Not wanting to miss out on the love-fest, the Doctor, Mel, and Flip all followed suit. But Peri, being surrounded by three taller people and one slightly taller person, felt herself being trapped in some odd new method of capital punishment.

“Ack! I’m meeelllting from too much affectioooonn…,” Peri cried with her best Wicked Witch impression.

“We’re going to turn you into a Peri sundae!” Flip gave her a quick squeeze.

The Doctor stepped back from the group with a small grimace spread across his face, “Good heavens, Flip, that’s rather morbid coming from you.”

The hug dissipated and they, save for Peri, returned to their seats.

“Oh was it? I was thinking it’d be a hot new flavour at Coldstone.”

Peri gestured for them all to quiet down. “Okay okay!” she intoned, “I want you all to open your gifts. I chose them and bought them myself!”

“Now?” Mel asked.

“Like right now?” Flip added.

The Doctor ripped into his wrapping paper, “Yes, _now!_ ”

Mel and Flip looked at each other and shrugged. The sound of tearing paper dominated all else in the room, followed by the heartwarming gasps of satisfied recipients.

“New kitchen mitts and a lovely sweater—two things I definitely needed!” Janine held up a handheld monkey toy wearing a striped shirt and holding a pair of cymbals, “But this is just odd.”

“It’s to pay homage to that drum-playing monkey you told me about!”

“Oh! What was his name—Abdullah? He put on a fine show too. I’ll name this one after him!”

Flip pulled out a multicoloured baja sweater from her box, “Fuck! I mean…” she simpered at Peri’s mom who was looking at her askance, “Dang! I’ve always wanted one of these!”

Standing up and away from the group, Flip removed her ugly Christmas sweater (yes, she there was a shirt on underneath) and swaddled herself in the Mexican-bohemian warmth of her new winterwear, “And it fits perfectly! Thanks, P!”

“You’re welcome!” Peri smiled.

Mel was next to indulge everyone in her spoils: a grey cube with pink hearts on each one of the faces and a fifteen dollar gift card to buy digital games with.

“‘Aperture science…’,” she sang, “A _Portal_ companion cube that doubles as a storage container? Who would’ve thought!”

In complete and utter silence, the Doctor scrutinised his gift from all angles.

“What did you get, Doctor?” Janine asked.

He closed the black, hardback book; revealing a cover imprinted with the words _‘CODEX SERAPHINIANUS’_ in large gilded type on top and a by-line in Italian on the bottom. Between both sets of words was a Hieronymous Bosch-like drawing of a man wearing a pink and white outfit that doubled as both his saddle and a long bugle hat. As he sat upon his reindeer—in a lush, green setting—they faced a brick oven preparing purple grapes by separating the fruit from the stem and dropping them into a bowl. This was a solar-powered oven that obtained its energy from a magnifying glass suspended in the air. With the sun beaming down, the light shot against the lens and beamed straight into the eyes of both the man and his beast of burden, “Quite frankly, Ms Brown, I believe your daughter will have to enlighten us on this...odd piece of literature.”

Peri chuckled behind her hand, “It’s the _Codex Seraphinianus_. An illustrated encyclopedia written in an imaginary language. I figured you’d have every other book on your shelf at home except for this one—and it seems I was right!”

“Encyclopedia? _Encyclopedia?”_ he huffed, “What kind of encyclopedia features a three-headed quail and an otter wearing a sailor’s uniform? Or an fish whose body is shaped as a giant human eye?!”

“Well if you don’t like it, then I’ll take it back!” she protested.

The Doctor held the three-hundred and sixty page book close to his bosom like a mother pulling their child away from a stranger, “Such a rash course of action, Peri!" he gasped. "Dare I say I’m actually looking forward to delving into the bizarre world of this...Serafini? chap. I had no idea you had an interest in Voynich manuscripts.”

Peri’s mouth gaped open, “Uh…” To her, a ‘Voynich manuscript’ meant nothing. When shopping for the Doctor’s gift, she had no particular title in mind; the only requirement was it had to be something ‘weird’.

“What kind of ‘weird’ are you looking for?” the shopkeeper asked, “There’s novels with unconventional plots or ‘rules’ (such as refraining from using the letter ‘e’), books that are meant to be comedic, and those which don’t make any sense at all...yet.”

Peri opted for the last and the owner referred her to a small selection of books that were slightly more expensive than the standard fare but with good reason. That _Codex_ was something right up the Doctor’s alley...even if his first impression said otherwise.

“Yeah...totally into that manuscript stuff!” Peri swayed on her heels, “Who isn’t?”

After the gift-opening ceremony, the revelry continued on for a few hours more. Drinks were soaked in, rugs were cut, and singing was belted when tunes from ABBA and AC/DC were blasted over the speakers. No one believed that the Doctor was truly ‘Back in Black’ in any sense of the phrase, but they all agreed to suspend their disbelief for the duration of Peri’s swell festivities.

And when the front door closed for the final time that night, Peri couldn’t wipe away her nostalgic, gleeful smile.

Janine kissed her daughter’s forehead and embraced her in a swinging hug, “You did a great job, love.”

“Mom?” Peri sniffled.

“Yes, love?”

“Why’d it have to end so soon? I...I wish tonight could last forever.”

“I know, I know,” Janine ran a gentle hand down Peri’s dark brown hair, “But guess what?”

“...What?”

“There’s always next year!”

###  **Sunday — morning**

After a night full of jubilation, there was no possible way Peri could jump in bed and fall asleep. Even scrubbing and putting away the dishes wasn’t enough to lull her into a restful slumber, so once the kitchen and foyer returned to their spotless state, she decided to take her mother up on the offer she had suggested many moons ago: movie night.

But by the time the suggestion was put to use it was technically the next morning.

Peri’s choice of film was none other than a _James Bond_ classic. Towards the middle half, her phone chimed.

“A text at this time of night?” Janine asked, with her focus solely on the television.

Peri unlocked her device and tabbed over to her messages.

Without moving her head, Janine glanced over towards the other side of the couch at her daughter who’s cheeks were reddening through the white backlight of her mobile device. A blush like that could only mean one thing:

“It’s a boy, isn’t it?”

“Nhmm,” Peri fibbed.

Her mother continued to prod in a sweet, motherly voice, “Was it the one we had over tonight? Claudius?”

Peri, whose fingers were tapping away at supersonic speed, bit the corner of her upturned lips. Yes, it _was_ Claudius and everyone—including the Pope—knew it. He had stumbled upon her poem tucked between the pages of the codex and, in summary, he thought it was a lovely little ditty and wondered if she had any more. He then sent her a photo of a poem he had written (in the most stunning copperplate hand that rivaled any 19th century calligrapher) the night they met at the bookstore two weeks prior. He offered to personally deliver it to her ‘one of these days’ and, in true Peri style, she responded with an emphatic ‘okay!’.

“If it _is_ Claudius,” Janine said with a smirk, “He has my full approval.”

Peri slapped her phone down on the cushions with incredulity, “Mom!”

“His dress sense is a bit naff, but I can tell he has a good heart,” Janine turned towards her daughter and was met with a playful scowl, “What? You don’t think you two would look nice together?”

“Oh my gooosh!” In an attempt to hide her still-blushing face, Peri pulled her blanket up above her head...and turned the brightness down on her phone. “Good night, mom!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
